Six law firms are working on a consolidated trial of multiple class actions over the collapse of retailer Dick Smith, but when the trial opened in the NSW Supreme Court this week, a lone barrister appeared in court before Justice Michael Ball, amid a sea of empty bar tables. Most of the hearing’s participants joined through a virtual courtroom while members of the public were invited to watch the trial unfold on a YouTube live stream. Welcome to litigating in the age of the coronavirus.
BHP has failed in a bid to shut down a class action over the Fundao dam failure pending criminal proceedings in Brazil, with a judge ruling the mining giant would not be prejudiced if the case proceeded for now.
A unit of Telstra contractor Tandem has lost its bid to de-class a ‘sham’ contracting class action brought on behalf of telecommunications workers who claim they were denied benefits by being misclassified as contractors.
If contingency fees are really so bad that they should be opposed as a matter of principle, why did each of the Productivity Commission, the Victorian Law Reform Commission, and the Australian Law Reform Commission recommend their introduction? The answer is that on close analysis, the arguments against contingency fees do not bear scrutiny, says NSW barrister Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz.
A judge has given his blessing to a $49.7 million settlement of two class actions that alleged infant food maker Bellamy’s misled investors about its China growth strategy and declining market share in Australia.
Westpac has been hit with another class action over alleged anti-money laundering breaches, teeing up a high-stakes beauty parade over which firm will lead the class action against the bank.
The Law Council of Australia has come out against proposed Victorian legislation that would allow lawyers to charge contingency fees, saying lifting the current ban would compromise solicitorsā ethical duties to their clients.
Three Sydney-based law firms are now facing claims by Australian-Chinese investors seeking over $6 million in damages for allegedly negligent advice provided about investment properties developed by the now collapsed Ralan Group.
A court has ordered the lead applicant in a $129 million underpayment class action against Merivale to fill gaps in his case, after the hospitality giant complained there was insufficient information as to how the employee’s claims related to other workers.
Victorian Attorney-General Jill Hennessy is “cautiously confident” that her bill allowing lawyers in the state to charge contingency fees will pass as early as next week, but the class action reform couldn’t come soon enough, she says.