Awaiting judgment in Federal Court class actions by shareholders over its money laundering risk disclosures, the Commonwealth Bank will ask the court to reopen the case to consider the relevance of two recent decisions that found shareholders in other class actions had failed to prove loss.
A judge overseeing a superannuation class action against two Westpac units that settled for $30 million has flagged the possibility of appointing a contradictor to examine the litigation funder’s claimed cut of the settlement, which includes a deduction of over $1 million to cover the costs of after-the-event insurance.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia faces trial Monday in one of several class actions filed against a major Australian company in recent years over allegedly lax money laundering practices and disclosures.
Logistics company GetSwift’s settlement of a shareholder class action will see group members share in $1.5 million cash plus access to further funds and revenue raised by the company over a three-year period.
PricewaterhouseCoopers is looking to shut down a class action by irate bondholders of collapsed asset finance lender Axsesstoday Limited over alleged misrepresentations in a $50 million bond offer.
Payouts in class actions in 2020 largely kept pace with the previous year despite the financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, with companies and other defendants paying more than $696 million to settle class actions last year.
A judge has found that a litigation funder’s involvement in settlement negotiations without the presence of the applicant’s lawyers in a shareholder class action against Spotless Group, which recently settled for $95 million, was “inappropriate”.
New laws aimed at regulating litigation funders are due to commence on Saturday, but Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is keeping a lid on four emails exchanged with the watchdog in the days leading up to the decision to bring in the sweeping changes.
Pizza chain Domino’s has been blasted for redactions in documents it has produced in a class action over worker pay, with a judge warning the franchisor that it could not act as “judge and jury” in deciding what information could be given to the applicant.
Fast food giant Domino’s has denied allegations that it violated consumer law with the representations it made to franchisees about the agreements its workers were covered under, saying it was only giving franchisees its opinion.