Collapsed engineering and construction company Forge Group has agreed to settle a shareholder class action over alleged continuous disclosure breaches, which will see the funder pocket about $7.5 million.
A court has barred US drug company Merck Sharp & Dohme from denying that an agreement made with German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA was governed by German law, settling a key question before a trade mark case between the two drug giants goes to trial.
Rival law firms Maurice Blackburn and Phi Finney McDonald will be allowed to work together without consolidating their separate shareholder class actions against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, after a judge ruled that the bank had overstated the potential for extra costs and delays.
German-based cladding manufacturer 3A Composites has foreshadowed potential cross claims against third party engineers and certifiers in one of two class actions brought over allegedly dangerous combustible cladding used in countless buildings across Australia.
Noting the “significant and beneficial reduction” in recent funding rates, the judge overseeing a shareholder class action against recycling company Sims Metal Management has signed off on an order capping the commission of the funders at 25 per cent of any net proceeds and setting a minimum 50 per cent of any recovery for group members.
A judge overseeing competing consumer class actions against AMP over superannuation fees said he would be “reluctant” to hold a contest between the two cases, as the applicants in the rival proceedings tell the court they are in talks about possible consolidation.
A judge has baulked at an application by labour hire company Chandler Macleod and BHP unit Mt Arthur Coal seeking security for their legal costs in two casual worker class actions, saying Fair Work cases were not the same as shareholder class actions.
A dispute over allegedly stolen Russian vodka trade marks has been permanently stayed as an abuse of process, after the Russian Federation failed to provide adequate discovery of relevant materials.
A judge has granted discovery of up to 32,000 documents just months out from the Forge investor class action trial, as she blasted the insurance company respondents for wasting resources after they failed to comply with the court’s previous orders.
Recycling company Sims Metal Management has responded to a shareholder class action ahead of a hearing on Tuesday, denying it breached its continuous disclosure obligations and partially placing the blame for any losses at the feet of group members.