AMP has slammed arguments that group members in four Federal Court class actions could face a jurisdictional limitation on their claims of disclosure breaches if their cases are transferred to state court, saying no such disadvantage exists.
The Federal Court offers group members in the shareholder class actions against AMP a major legal advantage over the NSW Supreme Court, lawyers for the federal cases have argued ahead of a hearing in the controversial jurisdictional battle.
Mining giant BHP Billiton has reached a $50 million deal to settle the US class action over the 2015 dam failure at the Samarco mine in Brazil.
The Full Federal Court expressed doubts Tuesday about an “unusual” and “heavy handed” order restraining lawyers leading the stayed class actions against GetSwift from advising their clients about whether to opt out of the prevailing action.
The judge overseeing the GetSwift class action proceedings was bent on picking a winner from the outset and should be removed from the case for rehearing, a barrister for one of the losing law firms told the Full Federal Court Monday.
BHP Billiton is facing the possibility of a second shareholder class action over the Fundao dam failure at its mine in Brazil, but the cases may be put on hold pending the outcome of homicide charges against company employees.
The country’s biggest law firms were among the first in line to weigh in on changes to the class action regime proposed by the Australian Law Reform Commission, with one global firm cautioning against a weakening of continuous disclosure laws.
Law firm Squire Patton Boggs is again on the losing end of a ruling by the judge presiding over a shareholder class action against GetSwift, a case now better known for infighting among lawyers than for the allegations levelled against the tech startup.
Lawyers for two competing class actions against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia over breaches of anti-money laundering laws say the cases can happily co-exist, but whether the court will agree may well depend on the outcome of a closely-watched appeal in a separate battle over multiple proceedings.
A judge on Friday will hear arguments in a bid by BHP Billiton to halt a class action over the mining giant’s Brazilian mine disaster, a sweeping case filed on behalf of investors who held the company’s shares in Australia, the UK or South Africa.