Class Actions

The High Court has granted special leave to farmers in a class action against Advanta Seeds over allegedly contaminated product to challenge a court’s finding that a disclaimer nullified the company’s duty to protect growers against economic loss.

A law firm behind a class action against the state of Victoria over the COVID-19 hotel quarantine fiasco is seeking what would be the second highest contingency fee rate for running the case, saying the percentage was justified given the complexity of the novel claims.

A judge who signed off on a settlement in a class action against the  government by sovereign bondholders over the disclosure of climate risks said proving climate change posed a risk to government coffers may not be as difficult as the government has claimed.

The Full Federal Court has answered a question vexing the court for the past four years, ruling that class action judges have the power to make common fund orders at settlement that allow litigation funders to reap a percentage commission beyond their contractual entitlement. 

The Full Federal Court’s finding that the High Court did not extinguish the power of judges to make common fund orders on approval of class action settlements is the latest milestone in the evolution of Australian class action jurisprudence, experts say.

A judge has declined a union’s bid to throw out an employee class action against McDonald’s after the Full Federal Court confirmed that employee class actions are not precluded by the Fair Work Act. 

A Federal Court judge’s endorsement of the novel idea of a ‘solicitors’ common fund order’ may reverse the trend of class action lawyers running to the Supreme Court of Victoria, where they can earn a contingency fee, to file their cases.

A judge has awarded carriage of a class action against Jaguar Land Rover over allegedly defective diesel filters to a law firm that won a similar case against another car maker, saying the firm’s experience was not a “neutral factor”.

A second law firm is likely to throw its hat in the ring to run a competing class action against Qantas over flight cancellations in the COVID-19 pandemic, but a judge has made orders trying to side-step a carriage fight, criticising them as “wasteful and expensive”. 

The future of a competition class action against AGL Energy is in doubt after being abandoned by its funder, despite evading the energy supplier’s bid to dismiss the case.