Healthcare

A judge has cautioned two law firms running competing shareholder class actions over last October’s cyber attack on Medibank that they must keep their focus on the best interests of clients and group members, saying lawyers can lose sight of that duty when arguing for their case. 

The developer of healthcare directory app Whitecoat must pay health insurer and joint venture partner NIB $1.6 million for loans that were never repaid following the app’s sale to the Commonwealth Bank for $42.5 million in 2021. 

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has raised Medibank’s capital adequacy requirement by $250 million, following last year’s cyber attack against the private health insurer, which exposed the personal details of 10 million customers. 

Pet and livestock drug company Zoetis, which successfully defended a class action over its horse vaccine Equivac, is pressing forward with its claim against the legal team that ran the unfunded case, seeking to recover $500,000 of its $3.8 million legal bill.

A class action on behalf of women injured by alleged defective pelvic mesh will not advise group members the estimated average return from the proceeds of a settlement against defunct device manufacturer TFS’ insurer because it would be “cruel”.

A declassing bid by nine doctors in a class action on behalf of women allegedly injured by a one-size-fits-all approach to breast implant surgeries must apply to the entire proceeding, not just the claims against them, a court has heard.

Dental aligner maker Invisalign has appealed its loss in suit accusing competitor SmileDirectClub of misleading consumers about the cost and efficacy of its direct-to-consumer teeth alignment kits.

The Federal Court’s recently retired top judge has landed on his feet with his appointment by the court as referee to determine which of a group of competing firms should dole out a $300 million settlement that resolved the J&J pelvic mesh class actions.

Real estate investment trust NorthWest can amend its pleadings in a lawsuit alleging one of the country’s largest unlisted healthcare property funds conspired to prevent it from acquiring a controlling stake, but has come up short in its bid to add to its claims against property giant Dexus.

A contradictor in two pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson and unit Ethicon has told the court of the “extraordinary amount of group member unhappiness” following approval of a $300 million settlement – the largest in the history of Australian product liability group proceedings.