The field of competitors in a four-way contest to run a shareholder class action against Downer EDI over a $40 million profit overstatement has narrowed with the consolidation of three cases, leaving one firm to face criticism over its comparative inexperience running group proceedings.
A judge has blessed a $132.7 million settlement and a $33 million common fund order in a class action over toxic firefighting foam, saying he was “not vexed” by whether he had power to grant the funder’s payout despite the Full Court having reserved on the contentious issue.
A $26 million settlement has been reached in a class action against Ardent Leisure alleging it misled shareholders about safety measures that were in place ahead of the 2016 tragedy at its Dreamworld theme park in Queensland which claimed four lives.
A Blue Sky director has pointed the finger at auditor Ernst & Young in a class action alleging the collapsed investment firm misled shareholders by misstating its assets under management.
A judge has ordered KPMG to turn over its complete audit files for CuDeco in a shareholder class action against the defunct mining company’s former company directors and the accounting firm over allegedly misleading statements about the value of ore reserves at CuDeco’s Rocklands mines in Queensland.
Two courts have ruled that in competing class actions against Hyundai and Kia over allegedly faulty anti-lock braking systems, a plaintiff’s bid to transfer one of the cases from Victoria to the Federal Court should precede a carriage fight, deeming it the “straightforward” option.
A class action against Optus over a cyberattack that left the data of up to 10 million customers exposed is seeking access to an independent report prepared by Deloitte into the causes of the hack.
A judge overseeing a class action over the Optus data breach will order the Information Commissioner to appear in court to explain the “delay and uncertainty” surrounding a number of representative complaints before the OAIC which are hampering the court proceedings.
Auditor Ernst & Young has filed cross-claims against Blue Sky in a shareholder class action accusing the collapsed investment firm of misleading shareholders by misstating its assets under management.
A judge overseeing four COVID-19 business interruption class actions has questioned a decision by insurers to use ten test cases to resolve the issue of whether they had to indemnify policyholders instead of a class action, which would have been binding.