Class action settlement sums reached new highs last year, with the ten largest agreements totalling almost $1 billion, almost half of which was secured by one plaintiff law firm.
Westpac has agreed to pay $29.95 million to settle a class action alleging subsidiaries BT Funds Management Limited and Westpac Life Insurance Services Limited charged customers excessive superannuation fees between 2007 and 2019.
A recent ruling cutting the contingency fee sought by a plaintiff law firm shows competition to run class actions will drive down the percentage payout courts are willing to permit. And as more firms enter the market for a slice of the returns, the downward pressure on profits will only build.
The NSW government will move to de-class a representative proceeding over police strip searches at 50 music festivals, after a judge cast doubt on whether the case should be run as a class action.
The High Court has unanimously dismissed Western Power’s challenge to a judgment which found the state-owned electricity supplier breached its duty of care to inspect power poles on private land and was partly liable for property damage from the 2014 Perth Hills bushfire.
Insurers will file de-classing applications in four class actions on behalf of small businesses seeking coverage under business interruption policies for losses flowing from COVID-19 restrictions after their test cases largely failed.
Westpac has lost a bid to keep group members in the dark about the premiums paid for allegedly worthless consumer credit insurance, information the bank said could inflate expectations about settlements worth $126 million reached in three class actions.
Westpac has objected to several proposed notices going out to group members in a class action over ‘junk’ consumer credit insurance, which three of the Big Four banks have agreed to pay $126 million to settle.
Three of the Big Four banks have agreed to pay a total of $126 million to settle class actions on behalf of up to one million customers who were sold consumer credit insurance.
A judge has signed off on a group costs order in a shareholder class action against food company Noumi and auditor Deloitte guaranteeing group members a return of at least 78 per cent, but noted the law firms’ cut may need to be reviewed to avoid a “disproportionate return”.