The Federal Court has granted a bid by plaintiffs in competing class actions against Downer EDI to transfer their cases to the Victoria Supreme Court, where a four-way contest will take place.
The High Court has dismissed a constitutional appeal by Irish insurer Zurich, clearing the way for a class action over an allegedly defective New Zealand apartment block to proceed in the NSW Supreme Court.
Insurer Vero is fighting a ruling that added it to a class action against cladding manufacturer Fairview Architectural over allegedly combustible cladding.
Class actions throw up all manner of ethical conundrums, but a recent Federal Court decision has shined a light on the question of whether funders and law firms should take out loans to run class actions and whether they can charge the costs to group members.
A class action brought on behalf of sovereign bond investors over the disclosure of climate change risks has settled with the government on terms that don’t preclude further proceedings, a court has heard.
Competing class actions, which a judge recently called a “plague” on the courts, are driving a rise in class actions, with new representative proceedings brought this year set to outpace last year’s filings, according to a report by law firm Allens.
A judge asked to approve a $50 million settlement in a consumer credit insurance class action against the Commonwealth Bank has questioned a $2.5 million deduction for professional services firm Deloitte.
A judge overseeing a class action against Suncorp subsidiary AAI has questioned whether the “uncertain” plan B of a law firm seeking a 25 per cent group costs order was artificially uncertain to increase the relative appeal of its contingency fee bid.
Shine Lawyers has lost its bid to recover $32 million in interest on a loan it took out to run two pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson, with a judge finding it would make a “marginal settlement less than reasonable”.
ANZ’s $47 million settlement of a class action over its consumer credit insurance has been given the nod by a judge, who has also approved recovery of the cost of after-the-event insurance held by the law firm running the case.