A record number of class actions were filed in the past year but shareholder class actions, which have been the primary target of the federal government’s attack on the class action regime, have decreased in significance, says Professor Vince Morabito.
Crown Resorts will fight to strike out allegations in a class action that the casino operator was liable for “oppressive conduct” under the Corporations Act, saying there was no legal basis for making the claims and no articulation by the class as to how the company engaged in the conduct.
Melbourne hospital operator Western Health is facing a potential class action by junior doctors alleging they have been denied overtime pay, the third underpayments class action to be filed by doctors in Victoria.
Maddens Lawyers is investigating a potential class action over the Mount Mackenzie Road fire in Tenterfield, NSW, allegedly caused by power lines operated by Essential Energy.
Homeowners in a Western Sydney suburb have filed a NSW Supreme Court class action against the local council, a developer and geotechnical engineers seeking compensation over homes they claim are sinking into the ground.
The lead counsel in class actions against AMP and Vocation and a silk who worked on the landmark Black Saturday bushfire class actions are the latest judicial appointees to the Victoria Supreme Court, boosting the class action chops of the court’s bench.
Kia Motors is facing an investigation into a possible class action on behalf of car owners whose vehicles were recalled due to the risk that they could catch fire when parked.
The cash-strapped litigation funder that initially agreed to bankroll a class action against Westpac over life insurance premiums will not earn a cent in commission under a proposed $30 million settlement.
A class action trial against Volkswagen over recalled Takata airbags has kicked off, with a lawyer for the car giant denying the airbags carried a safety risk and attacking as “quite absurd” the sought-after damages of 30 percent of the initial price tag of affected cars.
Ernst & Young has resigned from its role as Omni Bridgeway’s long-time auditor after determining a class action against it that’s being backed by the litigation funder could threaten its independence.