Quinn Emanuel

Santos wants four activist organisations to hand up any communications with the Environmental Defenders Office over its unsuccessful challenge to the construction of a pipeline for the energy company’s $5.6 billion Barossa gas project, as it seeks to recover third-party costs against the legal centre for its conduct in running the proceedings.

A judge has approved a settlement in a shareholder class action against livestock exporter Wellard that grants a 34 per cent cut for group members, saying that investors had agreed to the lawyers and funder receiving the “lion’s share”. 

The state of Victoria has won its bid to prevent lawyers for a class action over Victoria’s COVID-19 hotel quarantine debacle from proofing lay witnesses, ahead of a criminal trial against the Department of Health, which is due to start in May.

A shareholder class action against livestock exporter Wellard is seeking approval for a $23 million settlement which will see only $7.86 million go to group members, telling the court that the funder and law firm that ran the case have agreed to take a haircut on the deductions they’re entitled to.

The law firm behind a class action against Insurance Australia Group has secured a group costs order that will give it 30 per cent of any proceeds — a contingency fee rate six percentage points higher than the median rate for shareholder cases.

Group members in a shareholder class action against livestock exporter Wellard will get 34 per cent of a $23 million settlement if the court approves deductions sought by the funder and law firm that ran the case.

The High Court has refused special leave in a failed class action against Volkswagen over allegedly defective Takata airbags.

A judge has signed off on a 27.5 per cent group costs order in a consolidated shareholder class action against Medibank over a cyberattack that affected 10 million customers, noting the “significant risk” taken on by the two plaintiff law firms running the action. 

A former PricewaterhouseCoopers partner has sued the firm for denying him retirement payments for moving to alleged competitor DLA Piper and for his alleged involvement in the firm’s tax leaks crisis.

A shareholder class action against livestock exporter Wellard over a profit downgrade following its $300 million initial public offering in 2015 has settled for $23 million.