Class Actions

The peak body for community legal centres has flagged a declassing application in a group proceeding alleging Knowmore Legal Service provided negligent, “cookie cutter” advice to survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. 

Whitehaven Coal has struck back at a class action led by the father of famed mining investor Nathan Tinkler, calling the claims that it failed to fulfil an implied term of a $150 million share subscription from 2012 “fanciful”.

Shareholders in Whitehaven Coal who helped inject $150 million of capital during a 2012 merger are “trapped” after the ASX-listed coal producer failed to abide by its side of the deal, a class action funded by mining investor Nathan Tinkler has alleged on the first day of trial.

A disputes partner has departed Gilbert + Tobin, taking with him two high-stakes class actions against Toyota and Jaguar over alleged diesel filter defects and the firm says it will not focus on bringing more class actions.

The judge overseeing an $100 million class action against NAB over the collapse of Walton Construction has rejected the bank’s bid for soft class closure ahead of mediation.

Citing the significant time and costs invested in the litigation, the applicant in the second filed class action over the collapse of Quintis wants his half of a $4.37 million settlement with the sandalwood producer to fund ongoing costs in what remains of the case.

Hyundai and Kia have been ordered to produce further documents to allow a class action to investigate the nature and extent of alleged engine defects, with a judge rejecting the car makers’ bid to produce only a sample set of documents.

A court has overturned a decision that franchisees bringing a class action against United Petroleum should be spared a security for costs order, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to conclude that the case would otherwise be stifled.

A judge has criticised the pleadings in class actions against ANZ, Macquarie and Westpac over flexible commission schemes for car dealers, saying they were “inappropriate and unhelpful” in referring to documents in the banking royal commission. 

A contradictor appointed to represent group members’ interests in relation to a $100 million settlement in a class action against AMP wants to shave $2.6 million off the funder’s cut, telling the court that deductions for ATE insurance and administrative fees should not be approved.