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A class action against Bayer over its Essure contraceptive has lost a bid to knock out the pharmaceutical giant’s defence that argues any defects in the device could not have been discovered given the state of scientific knowledge at the time the implants were sold in Australia.
A class action against Bayer over its Essure device has won court approval to add new allegations, including that the contraceptive caused sexual dysfunction, with a judge finding the new claims could not have taken the German drug maker by surprise.
Slater & Gordon is poised to go private in an off-market takeover by Allegro Funds valuing the company at 55 cents per share, 16 years after it became the first law firm to list on the ASX, reaching a peak valuation of $2.8 billion.
A four-way fight to lead a shareholder class action against Star Entertainment could be on the cards after a fourth law firm filed a representative proceeding alleging the company's share price plummeted following revelations of alleged money-laundering breaches.
Star Entertainment is facing a third shareholder class action alleging it failed to disclose material information about its compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations, after being slapped with $200 million in fines by state gambling regulators.
The NSW government has struck back at a class action over allegedly unlawful police strip searches at 50 music festivals, saying the state is immune from personal injury claims because police officers had a reasonable suspicion group members were in possession of illegal drugs.
In reasons for approving a $41 million deal to settle one of three shareholder class actions over Slater & Gordon's acquisition of a UK firm and awarding the funder 28 per cent, a judge has challenged a persistent notion that the interests of litigation funders and group members are at odds.
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.