Treasury Wine Estates has accused plaintiffs law firm Maurice Blackburn and barrister Guy Donnellan of “taking advantage” of their privileged position by using evidence discovered in a settled class action to file a second case against the wine maker.
A Victoria Supreme Court judge hearing two competing class actions against Allianz Australia over “junk” insurance has asked the parties for feedback on what she should consider at a hearing on a request for a group costs order, which would allow the plaintiff lawyers to earn a cut of any settlement or judgment, the first such request made since Victoria legalised contingency fees.
A second class action has been filed against insurance giant Allianz seeking compensation for consumers alleged to have been ripped off by “worthless” add-on car insurance.
That a first filed case should be the presumptive winner in a competition between class actions seemed a losing argument before the High Court on Tuesday as the justices weighed a challenge to a ruling picking one among a group of class actions against AMP, but the court also appeared skeptical of the power to hold wide ranging inquiries into the merits of competing cases.
CFMEU official Michael O’Connor has successfully appealed a ruling that threw out his lawsuit seeking to restrain union heavyweight John Setka from poaching members from the union’s manufacturing division.
The eyes of class action lawyers will be on the High Court Tuesday as it hears arguments over a judge’s power to choose a single class action among competing proceedings and what, if anything, should be made of a case’s funding structure and likely returns to group members when picking a winner.
Notice of the discontinuance of a class action on behalf of Slater & Gordon shareholders against Pitcher Partners need not be sent to all group members, a judge has ruled, acknowledging there would be “significant practical difficulties” with trying to reach everyone.
Rideshare giant Uber Technologies has lost a bid to keep its in-house legal team from handing over emails to a class action brought by Australian taxi drivers as well as the company behind the GoCatch taxi app.
Embattled dam operators Seqwater and Sunwater, along with the State of Queensland, have been hit with costs in a class action over the 2011 floods that destroyed 2,000 homes and claimed 12 lives.
A judge has expressed skepticism at claims by accounting firm Pitcher Partners that the lead applicant of a now dropped class action over its auditing advice to Slater & Gordon should be hit with indemnity costs for discontinuing the case.