Fonterra has hit back at claims in a class action that the dairy giant misled farmers and breached its supply agreements when it slashed milk prices and sought a clawback in 2016, saying it warned farmers of the “extreme” volatility in the market.
In a year headlined by partisan sparring and mudslinging over the Federal Government’s class action reform effort, judges forged ahead to refine the class action regime, issuing significant judgments on common fund orders and class closure, and handing the first post-trial win to a company in a shareholder class action. Here, Lawyerly takes you through some of the major class action events in 2020 and their consequences for the year ahead.
Trial is set to begin February 2 in a $100 million shareholder class action against Woolworths over a February 2015 profit downgrade that allegedly led to a drop in the company’s share price.
A class action brought on behalf of 40,000 customers has been launched against two Queensland energy generators who are accused of ‘gaming’ the energy pricing system and artificially inflating consumer prices.
A judge has rebuked the “procedural vulgarities” plaguing a referee’s supplementary report in a class action against Toyota over allegedly defective vehicles and has called for the process to be simplified.
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.
Payments provider Tyro is facing the threat of a class action over a days-long EFTPOS terminal outage that has left many businesses unable to accept payments.
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.
The law firm that led an unfunded class action against the Federal government over the controversial Robodebt scheme will ask the court to approve up to $16 million in legal costs when it seeks approval for the $112 million settlement reached in the class action last year.