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Judge mulls contradictor over ATE costs in super class action against Westpac
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.
Class action against KPMG, CuDeco directors wants insurance docs to avoid ‘train wreck’
A shareholder class action against KPMG and the directors of defunct mining company CuDeco is seeking insurance information and a limited number of documents from the directors ahead of mediation, to avoid a "train wreck" of a case, a court has heard.
Having their cake and ATEing it too? Class action funders face scrutiny for defraying risk
As the spotlight on class action costs grows, litigation funders can expect increased judicial scrutiny of their attempts to pass on the cost of after-the-event insurance premiums to class action members.
‘Silly case’ between class action applicant, funder settles
A clash between a class action applicant and a litigation funder over $1.2 million in claimed expenses has settled, after a judge ordered the sides to personally attend mediation.
With no funder, Colonial class action members better off by up to $12M, court finds
Customers of wealth manager Colonial First State were $10 million to $12 million better off without a litigation funder in a class action over the slow transfer of accounts to low cost MySuper funds, a judge has found.
‘A schemozzle’: Judge pans firm’s attempt to drop class action against Telstra
A judge has slammed as a "schemozzle" a law firm’s attempt to drop a class action by Telstra employees over the telecom giant’s COVID-19 vaccine policy, saying it failed to seek court approval for the discontinuance or give notice to group members as required.
Judge ‘horrified’ at ATO involvement in distributing superannuation class action settlements
A judge overseeing a superannuation class action against two Westpac units that settled for $30 million has expressed concerns about the ATO's potential involvement in distributing settlement funds, saying the department was unlikely to efficiently reunite group members with their money. 
Philips class action discontinuance shines light on ‘gap in access to justice’, judge says
A bid to drop a class action against Philips Electronics over recalled sleep apnea machines showed a gap in access to justice that was “very hard to fill” given the high cost of bringing large scale litigation, a judge has said.
‘Court is not a place for their sport’: Judge slams stoush between funder, class action applicant
A judge has ordered a litigation funder and the lead applicant in a settled class action to personally mediate a stoush over expenses, saying he doubted the applicant's $1.2 million claim and said the court is "not a place for their sport”.
Saga of common fund orders ripe for return to High Court
The question of power to make a common fund order at the end of a class action was no longer a hypothetical one and it was time to send the issue to the Full Federal Court. That's what the 7-Eleven class action judge was told 15 months ago but he failed to heed the advice, resulting in a court deeply divided and funders clamouring for reform.