Two law firms that were able to “work cooperatively” to join their cases have been awarded carriage of a shareholder class action against mining firm Downer EDI. The judge overseeing the proceedings also approved a group costs order application that proposed a “reasonable rate” of return to the firms.
The firm and funder that ran a shareholder class action against Ardent Leisure over the 2016 Dreamworld tragedy are seeking deductions totalling more than half of the $26 million settlement reached in the case.
Insurer JLT Risk Solutions won’t pay any compensation to resolve a long-running class action on behalf of Victorian councils, after defeating a similar class action in New South Wales.
Grocon has taken a hit in its $270 million lawsuit against Infrastructure NSW over a stalled $2 billion Central Barangaroo development project, with a judge finding the developer’s CEO waived privilege over legal advice it received on the sight line rights of Lendlease and Crown.
The judge who rewarded the law firm with the lowest ever GCO proposal with carriage of an $80 million class action this week noted the competitive forces that shaped a “very good deal for group members,” but competition has its downsides, experts say.
Shareholders of failed engineering firm RCR Tomlinson have secured a $40 million settlement in a class action brought over alleged misleading ASX statements.
A judge has approved a bid to consolidate two shareholder class actions against Medibank over a cyberattack that affected 10 million customers, finding that having two firms on the record is better than a carriage contest.
A class action against Volkswagen over allegedly deadly Takata airbags has failed a second time after an appeals court found “a merely speculative” risk of rupture was not enough to find the vehicles unacceptable.
The field of competitors in a four-way contest to run a shareholder class action against Downer EDI over a $40 million profit overstatement has narrowed with the consolidation of three cases, leaving one firm to face criticism over its comparative inexperience running group proceedings.
A $26 million settlement has been reached in a class action against Ardent Leisure alleging it misled shareholders about safety measures that were in place ahead of the 2016 tragedy at its Dreamworld theme park in Queensland which claimed four lives.