Insurance policies that may be worth up to $46 million and have derailed settlement approval in two class actions against sandalwood producer Quintis were “cobbled together” and contained errors and omissions, a court has heard.
A judge has cut a request a security for costs in half in insurance rectification proceedings stemming from two class against sandalwood producer Quintis, saying the amount proposed by the funders bankrolling the case was “quite generous”.
Three law firms will represent the insurers in new proceedings launched to resolve a $46 million insurance question delaying settlement of two shareholder class actions against sandlewood producer Quintis, bringing the total number of law firms working on the class action to eight.
In a defeat to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, a judge has found a key witness in the trial against former Quintis director Frank Wilson must give evidence in person, delaying the hearing indefinitely until coronavirus-related travel restrictions are lifted.
The settlement of two shareholder class actions against sandalwood producer Quintis has been delayed for a second time, as the parties continue to investigate the company’s eleventh-hour revelation that it may have extra insurance, which, according to the lawyers of one class action, could be worth $46 million to group members.
The settlement of two shareholder class actions against sandalwood producer Quintis has been delayed after the company’s eleventh-hour revelation that it may have an extra $40 million in insurance.
A lower demand for legal services triggered by the coronavirus pandemic has forced law firm Gadens to reduce staff salaries by 20%.
Sandalwood producer Quintis has agreed to settle two class actions by shareholders, but the claims against company founder Frank Wilson and auditor EY will proceed for now.
The coronavirus has forged changes in the legal profession that will outlast the pandemic itself, leading to greater flexibility and efficiencies in an industry steeped in tradition and notably slow to adopt new technologies, sources told Lawyerly.
As law firms and funders scramble to keep up with COVID-19’s impact on the legal landscape, some have gone above and beyond in creating new technological and service solutions for clients in these unprecedented times.