A judge overseeing a $192.5 million settlement in an oil spill class action against PTTEP Australia on behalf of Indonesian seaweed farmers has balked at the “very large” costs sought by Maurice Blackburn for administering the deal, expressing concerns that class action costs are “getting out of control”.
A settlement with directors in an investor class action brought over the collapse of advisory firm Linchpin Capital is in the interests of group members, a judge has said.
A class action against AGL Energy alleges the Big three energy supplier’s adoption of “gaming” strategies in the supply of electricity in South Australia led to anomalous price spikes in the state.
The judge weighing the legal costs sought to be deducted from a $300 million settlement in pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson has questioned Shine Lawyers’ bid to make group members pay $32 million in interest incurred on a loan the firm took out at “credit card” rates.
A judge has avoided a fight “with the High Court written all over it” over whether an investor class action against Blue Sky Alternative Investments and auditor EY can join four insurers to the case.
Ten has failed in a push to question Bruce Lehrmann on whether he leaked restricted material produced during the accused rapist’s criminal trial to select media, as it defends itself against his defamation case, with a judge saying the network was “fishing”.
It was “fundamentally wrong” that AMP Financial Planning paid consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers significantly more to review a court-ordered remediation than was paid to customers who suffered loss after an adviser churned life insurance policies for higher commissions, a judge has said.
SMBC has been cleared to add more claims to its $34 million suit against Humm Group after the fintech’s subsidiary allegedly misled the Japanese bank about worthless receivables under contracts said to be forged by a Forum Group entity.
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.
A class action of bond holders accusing Virgin Australia of failing to disclose its true financial position in a 2019 prospectus for a capital raising wants a contentious indemnity clause in the airline’s DOCA narrowed, in proceedings a judge has said “increasingly resemble a farce”.