A $19.6 million legal bill racked up by the law firm behind two 7-Eleven class actions accusing the convenience store chain of misleading franchisees did not warrant the appointment of a contradictor to a hearing seeking approval of a $98 million settlement, a court has heard.
The lead applicant in a class action against CBA does not have the right to view fund management documents relevant to the case despite representing group members who share joint privilege with the bank over material, a judge has said, acknowledging the decision could create difficulties in class action proceedings.
A dozen group members can opt out of Maurice Blackburn’s Roundup class action against Monsanto and switch to a competing class action being run by Sydney-based LHD Lawyers that was closed and temporarily stayed in May last year.
A judge has awarded $43 million to National Australia Bank in its lawsuit against former directors of failed retailer Dick Smith, but threw out claims against company directors brought by HSBC and the retailer’s receivers.
A judge has criticised agricultural giant Monsanto for its “highly unsatisfactory” conduct in ignoring court orders in a class action over its allegedly cancer-causing Roundup pesticides.
The judge overseeing a class action against Bayer-owned Monsanto has suggested a hearing by the end of the year on the cancer risks of the company’s Roundup products, saying judgment on that question would either encourage the proceedings to settle or end the case.
A judge overseeing a class action against Bayer-owned Monsanto over its allegedly carcinogenic weedkiller, Roundup, has declined to rule on the admissibility of expert evidence in a hearing ahead of trial next year, despite concerns about the independence of the expert witnesses for the class.
A fight over whether a class action applicant must fork over security for costs is not a matter of the strength of the case, says a judge presiding over a class action brought by superannuation holders against Commonwealth Bank of Australia and subsidiaries Colonial First State and Avanteos.
Lawyers for the lead applicant in a stayed class action against Bayer-owned Monsanto over its weedkiller Roundup cannot access discovered documents in a separate class action against the agricultural giant in advance of mediation next year.
Former solicitor general Justin Gleeson SC has been appointed contradictor in GetSwift’s battle to have the judge overseeing a shareholder class action disqualify himself from the proceedings after overseeing the trial in ASIC’s case against the logistics provider.