Class Actions

The NSW government is seeking to strike out class action claims for exemplary damages, arguing allegations that police conducted strip searches at music festivals as a matter of routine “lack specificity at every level”. 

A judge has approved a $25 million settlement in a class action against a group of surgeons who worked for the Cosmetic Institute, including a $8.9 million payout for the lawyers that ran the seven-year-old case, saying the deduction from the settlement was reasonable given the “very significant discount” applied to the legal bill.

Approving a settlement between insurers and group members in an investor class action against lender Axsesstoday, a judge has aired his frustration with expansive confidentiality provisions and deeds that “misapprehend the nature of the court’s role” in dealing with group members’ claims. 

McDonald’s has hit back at a class action over alleged unpaid work done by managers before and after shifts, saying it paid more than the minimum entitlements and is entitled to set off those payments against claims for compensation. 

Mining giant Rio Tinto faces a potential class action over allegations of sex discrimination and sexual harassment at mine sites in Australia, following a report that made “disturbing” findings about the company’s workplace culture.

Hearing arguments Tuesday on whether lawyers should be permitted to earn contingency fees in Federal Court class actions, judges on a Full Court bench appeared to lean in favour of allowing so-called solicitors’ common fund orders, rejecting claims they are “unjust”. 

Two units of insurer IAG have been hit with a class action for allegedly misleading hundreds of thousands of home owners insurance customers about loyalty discounts.

Westpac subsidiary RAMs has been hit with a class action by former franchisees who say their agreements with the home loan provider were terminated without proper cause.

Optus has lost its appeal of a decision that found the telco could not claim legal professional privilege over a Deloitte report into a major data breach, with an appeals court highlighting the lack of evidence from former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin.

While it was unfair for a judge to pick Gilbert + Tobin to run a class action against Jaguar Land Rover on the condition that it lower its funding rate, the judge was entitled to consider the law firm’s experience in a similar case against Toyota, an appeals court has said in its reasons.