A judge has held that there could be favourable costs consequences for Carnival if its rejected $15 million settlement offer in the Ruby Princess class action turns out to be more generous than the ultimate damages award, departing from a previous ruling that so-called Calderbank offers do not operate in group proceedings.
The High Court has refused special leave in a failed class action against Volkswagen over allegedly defective Takata airbags.
Online broker International Capital Markets has been hit with a second class action for selling “excessively risky” derivative products known as contracts for difference to retail investors.
A report by former ACCC head Allan Fels has found that corporate greed and lack of competition is to blame for the continued high prices experienced by Australians and called on the government to take action to fill the regulatory gaps that allow businesses to engage in price-gouging.
Two firms have agreed to consolidate their class actions against online trading platform IG Markets over risky CFDs, but the company failed in a bid to have the two funders behind the cases liable for 100% of any security for costs order lest one funder defaults.
Cruise ship operator Carnival PLC has flagged a bid for indemnity costs after the lead applicant in a class action over a COVID-19 outbreak aboard the Ruby Princess rejected a $15 million settlement offer.
Australia’s merger review regime is “outdated” and in need of an overhaul, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which says companies must explain why their acquisitions should get the all-clear.
Still in the dark about insurance coverage and seeking to stem the flow of cash, two class actions against Heritage Care and St Basil’s over COVID-19 outbreaks have been shelved pending the outcome of criminal cases against the Victorian aged care providers, in a decision the judge said “wouldn’t gladden the hearts of group members”.
Construction giant Boral has lost its bid to block a class action from running a ‘novel’ argument that shareholders suffered loss because of natural fluctuations in share price, rather than as a direct result of alleged continuous disclosure breaches.
Webb Henderson has snagged a leading litigation and regulatory partner from Corrs Chambers Westgarth to join its team in Sydney.