Class Actions

Three units of Perth-based builder BGC Housing Group have been hit with a class action on behalf of thousands of home owners who allege they have been harmed by lengthy construction delays.

The judge considering a $272 million settlement in class actions against Uber will appoint a pair of contradictors to advise her on the hundreds of objections lobbed against the agreement.

A class action has accused not for profit community legal service Knowmore Legal of breaching its duty of care and providing negligent advice to survivors of institutional child sexual abuse who settled their claims under the National Redress Scheme when they could have recovered more by taking their claims to court.

The ex-chair of former ANZ unit OnePath “has not been cooperating” in a class action alleging it breached its duties as a trustee of superannuation funds by slugging members with excessive fees to pay commissions to financial advisers, a court has heard. 

A judge has rejected arguments that Virgin Australia waived legal professional privilege over advice from Herbert Smith Freehills by claiming in a class action defence that it had a reasonable belief that statements in a prospectus for a $324 million capital raising were not misleading.

An appeals court has questioned General Motors’ construction of its settlement with the applicant in a class action on behalf of Holden dealers, as the car maker seeks to overturn a ruling that put it on the hook for the applicant’s full costs.

McDonald’s has raised concerns about a “skewed” sample of employees for the initial trial in a class action alleging the fast food giant denied shift managers compensation for pre- and post-shift work.

A New Zealand appeals court has ruled that common fund orders can be made in class actions, even at the early stages, departing from the High Court of Australia in finding the commercial viability of a proceeding enhances access to justice. 

Building materials manufacturer 3A Composites has lost a challenge to questions for a judge at an initial trial of a class action over combustible cladding, with a judge finding the issue of whether the company’s Alucobond panels were of acceptable quality was common to all group members. 

Noumi has agreed to pay a $5 million penalty for violating its continuous disclosure obligations in a case brought by the corporate regulator, but the applicant in a shareholder class action against the food company says the sum should be reserved to compensate group members.