BlueScope’s decision to hide its trade secrets has doomed its patent infringement lawsuit against South Korean rival Dongkuk Steel, with a judge dismissing the case and invalidating two of the steel giant’s patents.
Companies and other defendants forked over big sums last year to settle more than 20 class actions, with a total of at least $734 million being paid out. Here are the top 10 class action settlements and the law firms and funders that negotiated them.
The judge overseeing the settlement approval process in multiple class actions against Volkswagen over the diesel emissions scandal has criticised an application for a common fund order by the funder backing two Bannister Law-led lawsuits.
The High Court’s ruling Wednesday that judges have no power to issue a common fund order in the initial phases of a class action does not bind them after a settlement has been reached, a Federal Court judge said Friday.
Infant food maker Bellamy’s has agreed to pay $49.7 million to settle two shareholder class actions alleging the company misled investors in 2016 about its China growth strategy and declining infant formula market share in Australia.
Maurice Blackburn disregarded emails by the artist behind the iconic Fearless Girl statue questioning whether she would be breaching her contract with US asset management firm State Street in selling the law firm a replica, a court has heard.
Shareholders have appealed a ruling that found a “serious problem” with market-based causation and dismissed three cases against the liquidator of failed global financial services firm Babcock & Brown.
The former chief financial officer of Murray Goulburn has asked a judge to relieve him from any disqualification order sought by the corporate watchdog in its case over his alleged role in the milk supplier’s continuous disclosure breaches, saying he is already the subject of orders that ban him from the dairy industry.
Global chemicals giant SNF has dropped its case against rival BASF over a lucrative mining patent, the last of numerous Federal Court disputes between the companies.
The funder backing a shareholder class action against Woolworths wants a 35 percent slice of any settlement or judgment in the $100 million case, according to its agreement with the applicants.