Commonwealth Bank of Australia is facing a second shareholder class action after agreeing to fork over $700 million to settle anti-money laundering claims by the government’s financial intelligence agency.
The lead applicant in a class action against Murray Goulburn has lost a bid for access to documents showing the dairy cooperative’s trust consulted with a QC about possible negligence claims against Herbert Smith Freehills.
The judge overseeing a massive class action against Ford over its PowerShift transmission has vacated the trial date, blaming the lead applicant’s numerous “procedural failures”.
The high cost of litigation and the risk of adverse costs orders deter most individuals and companies from commencing litigation, even where they have a strong case. While much recent news on litigation funding has focused on class actions and the role that funding is playing in those proceedings, third party litigation funders are involved in a range of actions, including the funding of commercial claims on behalf of a company or individual.
A NSW Supreme Court judge has voiced concerns in an unprecedented jurisdictional battle that a decision that leaves competing class actions against AMP still raging in separate courts may force the Federal Court into a corner.
Litigation funder JustKapital went on the attack in court on Wednesday, saying Westpac’s objections to the terms of a proposed funding order in a class action against the bank were dangerously suspect.
The Full Court has invalidated a blanket policy by the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs to seize mobile phones from detainees held within immigration detention centres, in a class action filed on behalf of detainees.
The judge overseeing the Maurice Blackburn-led shareholder class action against Slater and Gordon that resulted in a $36.5 million settlement has signed off on additional costs for the law firm and the funder that backed the case.
Regulating third-party litigation funders gets a resounding yes, but experts are divided on removing the ban on contingency fees and other recommendations for reforming the class action regime. Lawyerly spoke to defence and plaintiff-side lawyers, as well as funders, for their take on the recent proposals, and five major talking points emerged.
After a marathon hearing in court on Monday, law firm Squire Patton Boggs lost its battle to avoid client communication restraints that other parties in the GetSwift class action saga voluntarily agreed to.