William Edwards

After initial qualms, a judge has signed off on a $29.5 million settlement in a class action against recycling company Sims that includes a “staggering” $8.5 million in legal costs and an insurance policy buffering the funder from adverse costs.

A judge has vacated an upcoming trial in shareholder class actions against former Quintis director Frank Wilson and Ernst & Young, after learning judgment in similar ASIC proceedings against Wilson will not be delivered before the class action hearing kicks off.

Class action settlement sums reached new highs last year, with the ten largest agreements totalling almost $1 billion, almost half of which was secured by one plaintiff law firm.

A judge has approved a group costs order with a tiered contingency fee that will guarantee group members at least 72.5 per cent of any returns in a shareholder class action accusing Crown Resorts of lax anti-money laundering compliance over a six-year period.

The Australian supplier of alleged combustible cladding is opposing a class action applicant’s bid for information ahead of settlement talks on the quantity of cladding sold in the country between 2009 and 2019.

A judge has granted a law firm’s bid for a group costs order in a shareholder class action against payments processing company EML, but has trimmed its proposed cut of any recovery after comparing it to the contingency fee rate the firm accepted in another class action.

Insurers will file de-classing applications in four class actions on behalf of small businesses seeking coverage under business interruption policies for losses flowing from COVID-19 restrictions after their test cases largely failed. 

Boral has won its bid to shield from shareholders in a class action three investigative reports, including one by accounting giant EY, concerning financial irregularities in the construction company’s North America windows business.

A judge has cut a funder’s commission by 33 per cent after approving a $20 million settlement in a sham contracting class action against telco contractor BSA Limited, finding that funders should receive “significantly lower” payouts in employment cases.

A judge has questioned a tiered contingency fee arrangement in a proposed group costs order by the law firm running a shareholder class action against Crown, asking whether the lower-end percentages were “meaningless”.