A Federal Court judge’s endorsement of the novel idea of a ‘solicitors’ common fund order’ may reverse the trend of class action lawyers running to the Supreme Court of Victoria, where they can earn a contingency fee, to file their cases.
A judge has awarded carriage of a class action against Jaguar Land Rover over allegedly defective diesel filters to a law firm that won a similar case against another car maker, saying the firm’s experience was not a “neutral factor”.
The future of a competition class action against AGL Energy is in doubt after being abandoned by its funder, despite evading the energy supplier’s bid to dismiss the case.
With bated breath class action litigators and funders have waited for this day, when the Full Federal Court decides the question of power to make common fund orders at settlement. They aren’t the final arbiters, but the judges’ ruling may be no less important for that.
A bondholder class action against Virgin is heating up, with the airline filing a cross-claim seeking the court’s approval to demand periodic payments from the applicant to cover its costs under a contentious indemnity clause.
A judge has raised concerns about expert evidence in a dispute between Acciona Infrastructure, Ferrovial Construction and three insurers over losses during construction of the $695 million Pacific Highway in NSW, saying the expert referral process had “gone off the rails”.
A resident of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community has been granted more time to decide whether he wants to bring a late bid to opt out of a class action after a $22 million settlement over PFAS contamination was approved, but a judge has warned he will face a high bar.
A former top judge appointed to decide the first-ever contest to administer a class action settlement has set out his criteria for making the choice, and has warned that giving the firm running a case a monopoly right to dole out the proceeds could lead to higher costs for group members and poorer settlement outcomes.
A judge has asked why the union representing Qantas workers did not bring a class action on behalf of 1,700 ground crew who were sacked during the COVID-19 pandemic, as he ordered the airline’s new CEO to attend settlement talks after losing its High Court appeal.
The runner-up in a contest to administer Johnson & Johnson’s $300 million settlement of two pelvic mesh class actions has lost a challenge to a decision awarding the prize to the team of Slater & Gordon, BDO and the firm of former Shine Lawyers solicitor Jan Saddler.