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.
At least five law firms are investigating lawsuits, including class action proceedings, in the wake of a landmark test case on COVID-19 exclusions for business interruption cover.
While there was no shortage of pain and challenges for law firms as the coronavirus raged across the globe last year, a number of big firms also felt the sting of litigation from disgruntled clients, partners and employees.
Payouts in class actions in 2020 largely kept pace with the previous year despite the financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, with companies and other defendants paying more than $696 million to settle class actions last year.
A fight over whether a class action applicant must fork over security for costs is not a matter of the strength of the case, says a judge presiding over a class action brought by superannuation holders against Commonwealth Bank of Australia and subsidiaries Colonial First State and Avanteos.