A judge has dismissed a class action alleging Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer is carcinogenic but did not go so far as to say it definitively does not cause cancer, while also dressing down the lawyers for both sides for causing delays in the case.
McDonald’s has raised concerns about a “skewed” sample of employees for the initial trial in a class action alleging the fast food giant denied shift managers compensation for pre- and post-shift work.
Four insurers have argued that class actions over alleged business interruption losses during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic should be de-classed, with one insurer saying group members cannot “go behind” a Full Court decision denying coverage for certain policyholders.
Although carefully reasoned, last week’s landmark judgment by the Full Federal Court finding power to grant contingency fees to class action solicitors has placed the question of statutory authority to award settlement common fund orders on more unsteady ground than before, experts say.
Lawyers are allowed to take a cut from a class action settlement or judgment under a so-called solicitors’ common fund order, the Full Federal Court has ruled, saying they are a permissive use of the court’s power.
The Federal Court is set to become a more attractive forum for class actions now that the Full Court has confirmed it has power to make orders granting solicitors a contingency fee from any settlement or judgment in a group proceeding.
PricewaterhouseCoopers has agreed to pay $8.25 million to settle a class action on behalf of Axsesstoday bondholders over an allegedly misleading bond prospectus, bringing the settlement total to $9.5 million after a group of insurers agreed to pay $1 million to settle the class action’s claims.
Network Ten has won $2 million in costs against Bruce Lehrmann in his failed defamation case over the broadcaster’s coverage of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations, after agreeing to a substantial haircut on its $3.7 million legal bill.
Journalist Lisa Wilkinson has filed a notice of contention in Bruce Lehrmann’s appeal of a judgment that found he raped colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House, claiming Lehrmann wasn’t just indifferent to his victim’s state of mind but knew she did not consent.
A judge has scorned a bid by the directors of John Bridgeman and JB Markets to represent the companies in a case brought by investment fund Benjamin Hornigold, suggesting the companies seek pro bono or community legal assistance.