Shine Lawyers

The insurers of Blue Sky Alternative Investments are fighting a bid to be joined to a consolidated investor class action against the company and its auditor, EY.

A class action against Carnival over norovirus outbreaks on its Sun Princess cruise ship is facing a strike out bid, with the cruise operator also flagging a declassing application down the line.

The High Court has granted leave to the applicant in a class action against Carnival PLC to appeal a ruling that upheld a class action waiver in tickets bought by foreign passengers on the ill-fated Ruby Princess in 2020.

A judge overseeing a class action against Colonial First State Investments has raised concerns about a $655 million dividend to CBA, questioning whether group members’ recovery could be in danger.

The High Court has granted special leave to a Queensland council to challenge a ruling ordering it to repay owners of waterfront properties tens of thousands of dollars spent on an invalid canal maintenance levy.

A judge has approved a $300 million settlement in two pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson and unit Ethicon — the largest settlement in the history of Australian product liability group proceedings — but a $100 million deduction for legal costs has yet to get the greenlight. 

Boston Scientific’s $105 million settlement of a class action over its pelvic mesh devices has secured court approval, but the costs billed by the law firm running the case will face further scrutiny.

A senior barrister acting for a class action over the use of allegedly toxic firefighting foam on military bases has slammed an upcoming mediation as a “solemn farce”, as the federal government has said it will not be ready to commit to a settlement. 

The question of whether judges have the power to hear employment cases as representative proceedings is headed to the Full Court after a union raised the issue as it battles to have its underpayments case against McDonald’s run instead of a Shine Lawyers class action.

A judge is weighing up a law firm’s high legal costs against a union’s “bizarre” delay in a stoush over who should run a case against McDonald’s alleging 100,000 workers were denied rest breaks.