William Edwards

A judge has granted a bid for a new mediator in a class action over allegedly combustible cladding, agreeing with the applicant that a “fresh start” may be beneficial.

Optus has lost its fight to keep a class action from accessing an independent report by consulting giant Deloitte into last year’s major data breach.

The litigation funder that backed a class action brought on behalf of Indigenous workers seeking to recover unpaid wages wants a 20 per cent commission from the settlement. But it faces pushback from the government of Western Australia, which has agreed to pay group members up to $165 million.

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.