A judge has vacated an upcoming trial in shareholder class actions against former Quintis director Frank Wilson and Ernst & Young, after learning judgment in similar ASIC proceedings against Wilson will not be delivered before the class action hearing kicks off.
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.
Westpac has lost a bid to keep group members in the dark about the premiums paid for allegedly worthless consumer credit insurance, information the bank said could inflate expectations about settlements worth $126 million reached in three class actions.
Westpac has objected to several proposed notices going out to group members in a class action over ‘junk’ consumer credit insurance, which three of the Big Four banks have agreed to pay $126 million to settle.
ANZ and Westpac have failed in their bid for a contradictor to weigh in on a contingency fee bid in two class actions, as the law firm that lost the first ever application for a group costs order tries again.
Insurer QBE has settled a class action over ANZ’s sale of allegedly worthless add-on insurance, and the applicants are “hopeful” that the bank and two other named insurers will soon reach a deal to resolve the claims against them.
A shareholder class action against Ernst & Young over its alleged inflation of assets owned by sandalwood producer Quintis has argued the accounting firm should be allowed only one expert witness, who should collaborate with a competing expert chosen by the investors.
A judge has given a “judicial harrumph” to Sydney developer FKP Commercial Developments and Irish insurer Zurich Insurance in a dispute over coverage for an apartment defects suit, saying it was not for the court to “trawl” through an insurance policy to work out its meaning.
The law firm that lost the first ever application for a group costs order in class actions against ANZ and Westpac has indicated it will revive its bid, tweaking a retainer agreement with group members in hopes of winning the court’s approval this time.
The former CEO of failed electronics retailer Dick Smith should be held responsible for approving two dividend payments worth $28.5 million which the company could not afford to pay given it owed millions in unpaid bank loans and supplier debts, an appeals court has heard.