Class Actions

The plaintiffs in a farming class action brought against Advanta Seeds over allegedly contaminated sorghum have been denied access to the defendant’s insurance policy documents, after a judge found “significant differences” with a recently successful application in a class action against Radio Rentals.

QBE Underwriting has defended its decision to deny insurance coverage to the builder of Sydney’s troubled Opal Tower development, claiming the cracking was not “major” and did not cause last year’s Christmas Eve evacuation.

The judge who presided over a rare securities class action trial last year against department store Myer will deliver judgment in the case this month that could be the first ruling on causation in Australian shareholder class actions and has the potential to have a chilling effect on law firms bringing the cases.

National law firm Holding Redlich is investigating a shareholder class action against Smiles Inclusive, just one week after the embattled Gold Coast dental company reported a $31 million statutory loss.

The judge overseeing the long-running class action over allegedly faulty Ford PowerShift transmissions has told the applicants they might need to put up considerable cash security to cover the “war and peace of discovery” disputes, after Ford slammed the delayed request for documents as “complete and utter nonsense”.

The judge overseeing a class action against mineral sands producer Iluka Resources has slammed the submissions from both sides over a bid for an extra $2.6 million in security for costs, calling them “completely out of control” and “totally out of proportion”.

A landmark ruling has found judges have the power to order security against litigation funders backing Fair Work class actions, in a decision that could change the landscape of representative proceedings.

After being flooded with phone calls by class members wanting a share of a recent $16.4 million settlement with Cash Converters, law firm Maurice Blackburn will implement an automated message system to handle queries from 164,000 group members in the settled class action against Radio Rentals.

A challenge by Quinn Emanuel to a NSW Supreme Court decision staying its shareholder class action against AMP has been unanimously dismissed by the Court of Appeal, which found the class action beauty contest was not decided in error and that subsequently filed representative proceedings were not an abuse of process.

A judge has approved $725,000 in fees for Maddens Lawyers in signing off on a $1.2 million settlement in a class action over a 2017 fire at the Coolaroo recycling plant fire in Victoria, saying if the matter went to trial the firm’s bill would “far exceed” the value of the case.