A trial in a class action against Western Australia on behalf of First Nations workers seeking to recover stolen wages has been pushed off, suggesting the parties are close to a settlement.
The Full Federal Court has answered a question vexing the court for the past four years, ruling that class action judges have the power to make common fund orders at settlement that allow litigation funders to reap a percentage commission beyond their contractual entitlement.
The Full Federal Court’s finding that the High Court did not extinguish the power of judges to make common fund orders on approval of class action settlements is the latest milestone in the evolution of Australian class action jurisprudence, experts say.
A judge has declined a union’s bid to throw out an employee class action against McDonald’s after the Full Federal Court confirmed that employee class actions are not precluded by the Fair Work Act.
With bated breath class action litigators and funders have waited for this day, when the Full Federal Court decides the question of power to make common fund orders at settlement. They aren’t the final arbiters, but the judges’ ruling may be no less important for that.
Westpac has been hit with a class action for allegedly overcharging superannuation customers for insurance coverage, months after paying $30 million to settle a separate superannuation class action.
The ASX-listed Shine Lawyers has earned marks for improvement in a review by ASIC of its disclosures relating to interest on litigation funding loans, the corporate regulator said Thursday.
A resident of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community has been granted more time to decide whether he wants to bring a late bid to opt out of a class action after a $22 million settlement over PFAS contamination was approved, but a judge has warned he will face a high bar.
The lawyer who advised Seqwater in its successful defence of the monumental Queensland floods class action has joined Shine Lawyers as one of the firm’s three class action practice leaders.
A former top judge appointed to decide the first-ever contest to administer a class action settlement has set out his criteria for making the choice, and has warned that giving the firm running a case a monopoly right to dole out the proceeds could lead to higher costs for group members and poorer settlement outcomes.