The corporate regulator is taking five AMP entities to court alleging they acted unconscionably by continuing to charge life insurance premiums and advice fees to more than 2,000 customers after they were notified of their death.
As the no win, no fee model comes out on top in another high profile class action beauty contest, legal experts say third-party litigation funders will need to evolve and “fight back” to stay competitive.
The High Court has set a date for handing down its keenly anticipated judgment in a case that challenged the winner of a beauty contest of class actions against AMP, a decision expected to offer guidance on how courts should tackle the so-called multiplicity problem.
In Wigmans v AMP the High Court will shortly deliver judgment on the vexed issue of class actions that compete to represent substantially the same class or group. Dr Michael Duffy of Monash University previews the decision.
A judge has blasted AMP for dragging a fight over documents to court this close to Christmas, after software company DST Bluedoor revealed it is seeking $35.5 million in loss and damages against the financial services firm for allegedly inducing 11 employees to jump ship after licensing its online advisor platform.
Two law firms that have filed competing class action against AMP over allegedly excessive insurance premiums have changed tack and agreed to consolidate the proceedings.
The parties in a class action against AMP over changes to its buyer of last resort policy have agreed to a communications protocol making settlement offers and for releases attached to BOLR payments that require exiting financial advisers to waive their claims in the litigation.
The eyes of class action lawyers will be on the High Court Tuesday as it hears arguments over a judge’s power to choose a single class action among competing proceedings and what, if anything, should be made of a case’s funding structure and likely returns to group members when picking a winner.
A showdown over two competing class actions against AMP is set down for December, and the applicants will have to persuade the judge overseeing the cases that they should not be consolidated.
Changes to AMP’s buyer of last resort policy that reduced the multiple by which the wealth management firm would purchase advisers’ client registers was necessary to protect the business from a ‘BOLR run’, a court had been told.