Class Actions

Irish insurer Zurich Insurance has lost its appeal seeking to shut down a class action filed against it in the NSW Supreme Court over a defective New Zealand apartment block.

Although the settlement sum has not been disclosed, court documents in the Opal Tower class action reveal the litigation funder backing the case will seek $13.2 million in commission when the parties appear before the court later this year.

A fight over a global privilege claim by Noumi has been foreshadowed in a consolidated shareholder class action against the food company, formerly Freedom Foods.

The law firm whose probe into allegedly defective diesel particulate filters in Toyota cars has led to a verdict worth as much as $2 billion against the car maker has launched a class action investigation into diesel particulate filter issues with two models of Isuzu utes.

A judge has put a climate change class action on behalf of Torres Strait Islanders on a tight timetable and committed herself to handing down judgment soon after trial, saying the case was one of “considerable urgency”.

Shine and Phi Finney McDonald’s fallback plan to cooperatively run a class action against Nuix has come under fire, with the technology company urging the court to make the two firms compete against one another for sole carriage.

Uber is challenging a ruling that found many email exchanges with its lawyers were made in furtherance of offences and were not protected by legal professional privilege, saying it would be forced to hand over to a class action “bog standard” legal advice.

The lead applicants in a climate change class action by Torres Strait Islanders are hoping the Commonwealth will admit climate change targets set by the Morrison government were “woefully inadequate”, a court heard Friday. 

US medical device maker Boston Scientific has agreed to pay $105 million to settle a class action on behalf of Australian women implanted with one or more of the company’s pelvic mesh or sling products.

A judge has dismissed a proceeding against the New South Wales government over a mandate requiring healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, saying the applicant’s constitutional case was “legally misconceived and must be rejected.”