Two law firms that were able to “work cooperatively” to join their cases have been awarded carriage of a shareholder class action against mining firm Downer EDI. The judge overseeing the proceedings also approved a group costs order application that proposed a “reasonable rate” of return to the firms.
The firm and funder that ran a shareholder class action against Ardent Leisure over the 2016 Dreamworld tragedy are seeking deductions totalling more than half of the $26 million settlement reached in the case.
The judge who rewarded the law firm with the lowest ever GCO proposal with carriage of an $80 million class action this week noted the competitive forces that shaped a “very good deal for group members,” but competition has its downsides, experts say.
The winning, 14 per cent contingency fee proposal by Slater & Gordon in a fight to run a class action against Star Entertainment was not driven by a desire to prevail in the contest and buy market share but was the product of a “reasoned decision” that took into account the law firm’s practice as a whole, a judge has found.
One law firm has emerged victorious in a four-way contest to run a shareholder class action against Star Entertainment with the lowest proposed group costs order since contingency fees legislation was enacted in Victoria.
Shareholders of failed engineering firm RCR Tomlinson have secured a $40 million settlement in a class action brought over alleged misleading ASX statements.
A judge has approved a bid to consolidate two shareholder class actions against Medibank over a cyberattack that affected 10 million customers, finding that having two firms on the record is better than a carriage contest.
As it readies its civil penalty suit against tech company Nuix for trial, ASIC has flagged a possible dispute about the extent of penalty privilege pleaded by a handful of former and current directors named in the case.
The corporate regulator has lost its civil case against Frank Wilson, the founder of sandalwood oil producer Quintis, after failing to persuade the Federal Court he withheld from the board the termination of major supply contracts with a Nestle unit.
The field of competitors in a four-way contest to run a shareholder class action against Downer EDI over a $40 million profit overstatement has narrowed with the consolidation of three cases, leaving one firm to face criticism over its comparative inexperience running group proceedings.