Law firm Slater & Gordon is planning a national class action against the makers of kitchen stone benchtops on behalf of thousands of stonemasons who allegedly contracted silicosis when making the popular luxe kitchen surfaces.
Law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has told the court it will appeal a judgment permanently staying its shareholder class action against AMP over the wealth manager’s fees for no service scandal.
A judge’s decision to pick Maurice Blackburn’s no win, no fee class action against AMP over three funded class actions puts the pressure on litigation funders, which will now face more competition from law firms prepared to go it alone, experts say. The ruling also shows the value courts place on funding arrangements that seek to maximise returns for class members, which means class action beauty parades are sure to get less ugly.
A former senior lawyer at Slater & Gordon has filed a lawsuit against his old employer, claiming he was fired after complaining about allegedly unethical practices within the firm.
Maurice Blackburn’s shareholder class action against AMP — the only action not backed by a litigation funder — has been picked as the winner in a fierce battle of law firms vying to lead a high stakes case over the wealth manager’s fees for no service scandal.
Accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers is resisting a notice to produce audit files in a consolidated shareholder class action over the collapse of education and training company Vocation, arguing its partners face a real risk of criminal and civil penalty proceedings and are entited to claim privilege against self-incrimination.
A ruling by a judge deciding a four-way contest to run a shareholder class action against AMP is expected this week, a judgment significant not just because it is the first time a court in Australia has been asked to choose among so many competing representative cases.
A judge has consolidated two shareholder class actions brought against chain logistics company Brambles by Slater & Gordon and Maurice Blackburn, despite the rival firms failing to reach an agreement on the terms of the consolidation following a judge’s criticism of the class action “beauty parade”.
A judge has approved funding terms in a shareholder class action against facility services company Spotless Group under which the funders will get no more than 25 percent of any net settlement or judgment.
An appeals court has handed a win to the Fair Work Ombudsman in its battle for a multimillion dollar penalty against the CFMEU for coordinated strikes at two Hutchison Ports shipping terminals, finding a judge’s fine of just $38,000 did not cut it.