After initial qualms, a judge has signed off on a $29.5 million settlement in a class action against recycling company Sims that includes a “staggering” $8.5 million in legal costs and an insurance policy buffering the funder from adverse costs.
Class action settlement sums reached new highs last year, with the ten largest agreements totalling almost $1 billion, almost half of which was secured by one plaintiff law firm.
A judge has thrown out a long-running class action on behalf of 20 local councils in NSW alleging insurer JLT Risk Solutions charged them hundreds of millions of dollars in excessive premiums over nine years.
A judge has signed off on a group costs order in a shareholder class action against food company Noumi and auditor Deloitte guaranteeing group members a return of at least 78 per cent, but noted the law firms’ cut may need to be reviewed to avoid a “disproportionate return”.
Lendlease and other major builders have secured a significant victory in a long-running case brought by the liquidators of failed engineering company Hastie Group, with a judge saying Hastie wasn’t entitled to the proceeds of bank guarantees withdrawn by the builders when it collapsed 10 years ago.
Two class action firms have refused to provide an undertaking that would fix the rate of their contingency fee in a consolidated shareholder class action against food company Noumi and auditor Deloitte over $590 million in accounting irregularities.
In a boost to shareholder class actions, the High Court has dismissed an application by engineering services firm Worley to appeal a finding that companies should disclose to the market forecasts that ought reasonably to have been held.
A judge weighing a $29.5 million settlement in a class action against recycling company Sims Limited has questioned the courtās power to vary the funding agreement between the applicant and funder, which seeks to pass on its insurance costs to group members as well as recoup costs and earn a commission.
US medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific has withdrawn a controversial gag clause from of its $105 million deal to settle a class action by women allegedly injured by pelvic mesh devices after a judge raised concerns about its legality.
The judge overseeing a class action against US medical device maker Boston Scientific is considering appointing a contradictor to look over the $105 million settlement reached in the case, despite seeing no obvious obstacle to approving the deal.