An appeals court has overturned a ruling ordering class closure in seven representative proceedings against car makers over defective Takata airbags, finding courts do not have the power to make class closure orders.
The lead applicants in seven class actions against auto manufacturers over explosive Takata airbags have criticised the courts for losing their way in ensuring justice is done, in a landmark challenge to class closure orders made in the cases.
The applicants in a group of class actions over defective Takata airbags are pushing ahead with a challenge to the power of the NSW Supreme Court to issue class closure orders in the aftermath of a High Court decision shooting down common fund orders, a fight that could send the cases back to the High Court.
Judges have no power to order all class action members to pay a proportion of a litigation funder’s commission out of their share of a settlement, the High Court has ruled in a landmark judgment that deals a huge defeat to litigation funders.
The High Court is poised this week to issue its judgment in a case challenging the validity of common fund orders in class actions, a ruling that could see litigation funding commission rates creep back up after hitting record lows.
Sydney-based liquidator David Iannuzzi has been disqualified from serving as an insolvency practitioner for 10 years, in the first case brought by the Australian Tax Office under the Corporations Act’s ban on tax avoidance schemes.
The judge overseeing seven class actions against some of the world’s largest car makers over defective Takata airbags has ordered that class closure take place in advance of mediation, saying it was “time…for commercial reality to bite”.
The judge overseeing a group of class actions against car manufacturers over faulty Takata airbags has questioned a simplified group registration and opt out process proposed by the law firm leading the cases, saying it would “invite a moronic approach” to sign up.
Australian coal miner Moreton Resources has won a Full Federal Court appeal over tax offsets it claims are owed over a failed pilot project testing underground coal gasification, a process which was ultimately banned in Queensland.
The judge overseeing seven class actions against car makers over defective Takata airbags has shot down the applicants’ opposition to a soft class closure order in advance of mediation, saying the cases would not be a “mystery tour” from here on out.