A security for costs fight is looming in the two class actions brought against 7-Eleven on behalf of franchisees, and the convenience store giant, which claims it has spent more than double the security paid so far in defending the cases, must produce 900 pages of invoices ahead of the battle.
Litigation funders say they do not oppose the government’s plan to subject them to a licensing regime, but legal experts told Lawyerly the crackdown on funders may go too far too fast and could harm class action litigants.
Essential Energy has lost its appeal of a ruling granting preliminary discovery for a potential class action over the 2018 Tathra bushfire in New South Wales.
A judge has rejected concerns about client poaching raised by the law firms involved in competing class actions against chemical giant Monsanto.
A $95 million settlement has been reached in a shareholder class action against facility services company Spotless Group, the largest settlement in a shareholder class action in two years.
Litigation funders will soon be brought under the current corporate licencing regime and subjected to greater regulatory scrutiny, an opening salvo by the Morrison Government in its latest probe into class actions in Australia.
Mining magnate Clive Palmer has attacked a class action by timeshare owners of the ill-fated Palmer Coolum Resort on two fronts, arguing that a special levy to fund the action breached the Corporations Act and seeking to strike out significant portions of the case.
Two leading independent supermarket groups are the latest retail giants to face possible class actions for alleged wage underpayments, in the wake of class actions lobbed against Woolworths and Coles.
The law firm facing scrutiny over its legal fees in a class action over the collapse of Banksia Securities will argue that if it is found liable for any misconduct in the running of the case at an upcoming trial, the litigation funder and the barristers it briefed share in the blame.
The Victorian bill that would allow class action lawyers to charge contingency fees remains on the agenda, despite being delayed by reduced parliamentary sittings during the COVID-19 pandemic.