Westpac has hit back at a class action accusing it of colluding with car dealers on a “shonky” car loan scheme that allowed them to hike up interest rates to earn higher commissions, saying consumers could have shopped around for a better deal.
A judge has allowed a unit of recruitment firm Tandem to file cross-claims against individual group members in an underpayment class action, in a rare move that may spark important changes in representative proceedings.
A class action by franchisees against mobile and internet retailer TeleChoice will return to the Victoria Supreme Court next week as group members seek commissions they allege have been withheld while the company battles separate litigation against Optus.
A judge has rejected a class closure order application by the lead applicants in a class action against convenience store chain On The Run ahead of mediation, finding that the court does not have power to make such an order at a “relatively early” stage in a class action.
A judge has approved a $9.5 million settlement in a class action against McMillan Shakespeare as fair and reasonable, allowing a common fund order and a nearly 30 percent commission for the litigation funder despite previously raising “real concerns” about the small portion flowing to group members.
Whether a contingency fee order made in a Victoria Supreme Court class action can survive a transfer application to a NSW court could be the next high stakes class action issue for the courts.
In Wigmans v AMP the High Court will shortly deliver judgment on the vexed issue of class actions that compete to represent substantially the same class or group. Dr Michael Duffy of Monash University previews the decision.
Bondholders of Axsesstoday are seeking to expand their claims in a class action against the collapsed asset finance lender and its accountant PricewaterhouseCoopers, alleging PwC kept investors in the dark about a spike in the company’s arrears ratio prior to issuing a $50 million bond prospectus.
A group of women harmed by pelvic mesh devices produced by Johnson & Johnson have accused it of persisting with a “wreckage” of a case in which one of its own doctors admitted the pharmaceutical company knew of the risks posed by the implants at they time they were sold worldwide.
Two NAB units have indicated they will seek to dismiss a lawsuit over alleged MySuper mismanagement which the court recently ruled was not validly commenced as a class action if the lead applicant fails in his bid to replead.