The government of Western Australia has agreed to pay up to $180.4 million to settle a class action on behalf of First Nations workers who were paid little or nothing over a 36-year period.
In a shareholder class action targeting Boral, the construction materials giant has lost a bid to limit the class to registered group members until judgment, with a judge saying there was no reason to keep the class closed after mediation.
A judge has refused a bid by four major insurers to obtain the names of small businesses that register to join COVID-19 business interruption class actions, saying he did not want the companies contacting group members.
The High Court has granted special leave to farmers in a class action against Advanta Seeds over allegedly contaminated product to challenge a court’s finding that a disclaimer nullified the company’s duty to protect growers against economic loss.
A resident of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community has been granted more time to decide whether he wants to bring a late bid to opt out of a class action after a $22 million settlement over PFAS contamination was approved, but a judge has warned he will face a high bar.
The firm and funder that ran a shareholder class action against Ardent Leisure over the 2016 Dreamworld tragedy are seeking deductions totalling more than half of the $26 million settlement reached in the case.
The judge who rewarded the law firm with the lowest ever GCO proposal with carriage of an $80 million class action this week noted the competitive forces that shaped a “very good deal for group members,” but competition has its downsides, experts say.
A judge has approved a common fund order awarding $6.88 million to the funder behind a class action against Fonterra that settled for $25 million, opting not to wait for a much-anticipated appeals court ruling on the power to make CFOs at settlement.
The winning, 14 per cent contingency fee proposal by Slater & Gordon in a fight to run a class action against Star Entertainment was not driven by a desire to prevail in the contest and buy market share but was the product of a “reasoned decision” that took into account the law firm’s practice as a whole, a judge has found.
Class action boutique Bannister Law must bring a formal application to partner with a US-based law firm in proceedings against Hyundai and Kia over allegedly faulty anti-lock braking systems ahead of a fight with Maurice Blackburn to run the cases.