Levitt Robinson

A referee will calculate individual damages for 290 former Royal Australian Navy sailors after failed attempts at a settlement in a class action against the Department of Defence, in which a judge ruled the government owed compensation.

The judge asked to approve a settlement in a class action against retirement village provider Aveo has sent a shot across the bow to law firms seeking to make broad confidentiality claims over the settlement, saying such claims should be kept “to a minimum” in class actions.

A litigation funder whose cut of a $98 million settlement in franchise class actions against 7-Eleven was slashed in half is challenging a judge’s finding that “strong reasons” exist to refuse it a common fund order.

A judge has awarded $735,000 in damages to nine group members in a class action representing 200 former Royal Australian Navy sailors alleging the Department of Defence broke a promise to train them in engineering, finding they were owed compensation for the lost chance to earn higher wages.

A judge has questioned an $11 million settlement in a class action against retirement village provider Aveo, resolving to appoint a contradictor and a costs referee amid a dispute between the plaintiff law firm and its litigation funder, which the court heard has “grave concerns” about the costs incurred in the case.

Restaurant chain Fogo Brazilia is facing a class action alleging it misled franchisees about the profitability of its businesses, with business owners also making claims against an employment law practice that drafted the franchise agreements.

Law firm Levitt Robinson has filed a second class action against the Western Australian government on behalf of inmates in the state’s Banksia Hill detention centre alleging unlawful disability and age discrimination.

A judge overseeing two 7-Eleven class actions has signed off on $2.25 million in costs incurred by the funder and lawyers in their pitched battle to win approval for the terms of a $98 million settlement, which included deductions of more than $44 million to cover commission and fees.

A judge has told a class action applicant alleging institutional racism targeting the Indigenous population of a remote NT community to clarify his case over the availability of interpreting services.

A class action against Aveo Group has settled for $11 million mid trial, with the law firm that brought the case expressing regret for any “distress or anxiety” it caused and acknowledging the retirement village provider’s contracts with residents were lawful.