With COVID-19 forcing courts to deal with more matters on the papers, written submissions are more important than ever and must be carefully crafted to assist the court while offering clients the best chance of success, barristers told Lawyerly.
The settlement arrangement resolving five class actions against Volkswagen, which carved out hefty legal fees from the $120 million payout to drivers, could become more prevalent as the spotlight is once again trained on the cost of class actions. But the approach is not without controversy, experts say.
A proposed notice to eligible group members in Maurice Blackburn’s class action against AMP over its fees for no services scandal threatened to bar unregistered shareholders from any settlement stemming from mediation in the case, a threat barred by a recent ruling finding that courts have no power to close class actions to signed up group members, an appeals court has heard.
A security for costs fight is looming in the two class actions brought against 7-Eleven on behalf of franchisees, and the convenience store giant, which claims it has spent more than double the security paid so far in defending the cases, must produce 900 pages of invoices ahead of the battle.
Essential Energy has lost its appeal of a ruling granting preliminary discovery for a potential class action over the 2018 Tathra bushfire in New South Wales.
The Full Federal Court has dismissed BP’s appeal of a ruling by the Fair Work Commission that reinstated a worker who was fired for sharing a video clip that included subtitles placed over a scene from the movie ‘Downfall’ about Adolf Hitler.
A judge has rejected concerns about client poaching raised by the law firms involved in competing class actions against chemical giant Monsanto.
A $95 million settlement has been reached in a shareholder class action against facility services company Spotless Group, the largest settlement in a shareholder class action in two years.
Logistics company GetSwift and its directors have failed in a bid for a year-long delay of a trial scheduled to start next month in ASIC’s case alleging breaches of the Corporations Act, despite arguing that the procedural unfairness of a remote hearing gave the regulator a leg-up over the US-based company.
Heiko Constructions has won approval to appeal a ruling from Federal Circuit Court Judge Salvatore Vasta that found the company committed a breach of the Fair Work Act that was not pleaded by the former employee who brought the case.