A judge has approved a $9.5 million settlement in a class action against McMillan Shakespeare as fair and reasonable, allowing a common fund order and a nearly 30 percent commission for the litigation funder despite previously raising “real concerns” about the small portion flowing to group members.
Whether a contingency fee order made in a Victoria Supreme Court class action can survive a transfer application to a NSW court could be the next high stakes class action issue for the courts.
A judge has refused a bid to bring claims against law firm Herbert Smith Freehills in one of three lawsuits that will soon head to trial over the $4 billion collapse of steel giant Arrium Group.
The funder behind a class action against McMillan Shakespeare has warned against the court beating it up like a ‘pinata’ in a settlement approval hearing in which the judge expressed “real concerns” about the portion of a $9.5 million settlement earmarked for group members.
The Full Federal Court has upheld an appeal by In-N-Out Burgers against Sydney-based Hashtag Burgers, finding that its two sole directors were also liable for trademark infringement and passing off in owning and operating their ‘DOWN-N-OUT’ burger restaurants.
Payouts in class actions in 2020 largely kept pace with the previous year despite the financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, with companies and other defendants paying more than $696 million to settle class actions last year.
A judge has approved a settlement he previously expressed a “nagging feeling of disquiet about” in a class action against fundraiser Appco Group, after group members “overwhelmingly” supported the proposal and further cash assets were uncovered that increased the settlement amount to $2.05 million.
Shareholders of collapsed vocational training company Vocation are poised to get about half of a $50 million settlement reached last month in a complex, long-running class action alleging the company failed to make adequate disclosures about its contracts with the Victorian Department of Education.
A judge has again postponed signing off on a $1.9 million settlement in a $65 million sham contracting class action against fundraiser Appco Group after expressing “disquiet” about the deal in which the 1,100 group members would get “diddly squat” and ordered that notices be sent to group members informing them of their option to seek alternative lawyers.
A $50 million settlement has been reached in a long-running shareholder class action against defunct vocational training company Vocation that also spawned multiple cross-claims against the failed company’s auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers, law firm Johnson Winter & Slattery and individual directors.