A judge has allowed Treasury Wine Estates to apply for security for costs before a group costs order application is decided, in a class action accusing the wine maker of breaching its continuous disclosure obligations.
The judge overseeing two class actions over legal and accounting advice given ahead of Slater & Gordon’s disastrous Quindell acquisition has said he will hear the cases together, citing the “dangers” of the approach taken in litigation against GetSwift, which resulted in a judge being ordered to step down.
A judge has found the lead applicant and funder in a discontinued class action against Pitcher Partners over its auditing of Slater & Gordon must pay the bill for the flurry of cross-claims brought in the proceeding, but has rejecting the accounting firm’s argument that its costs should be paid on an indemnity basis.
Professionsal services giant EY has added to the many cross-claims flying in the shareholder class action against Pitcher Partners over advice to law firm Slater & Gordon, and has alleged the accounting firm engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and negligence and that it breached its retainer.
A judge has said that Australia’s largest childcare centre operator, G8 Education, can apply for security for costs before a group costs order in a class action accusing the company of failing to keep investors in the loop about increased costs and occupancy rates affecting its 2017 financial performance.
Food and beverage manufacturer Freedom Foods and accounting giant Deloitte have been hit with a second class action by irate investors seeking compensation for “accounting errors” that led to a $590 million write-down in November last year.
Murray Goulburn insurer AIG Australia says it should not have to pay 20 per cent of a $42 million class action settlement reached by the dairy cooperative, arguing on Tuesday that the class action claims failed to satisfy the definition of a “securities claim” in its insurance policy.
The Morrison government will reportedly make permanent changes to the continuous disclosure laws that were introduced at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of a wider effort to crack down on class action litigation.
The Federal government could be on the hook for millions in compensation to almost 1,300 asylum seekers following a ruling by the Privacy Commissioner that the government interfered with refugee privacy by publicly disclosing personal information, the first finding in a representative action that individuals affected by a data breach are entitled to compensation for non-economic loss.
Law firm Clayton Utz and litigation funder Investor Claim Partners have joined forces to bring a class action against insurers who have denied business interruption claims by business impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.