An independent costs consultant retained to assess the legal fees sought to be recouped from a settlement in a class action over the collapse of Banksia Securities has denied he was the “dogsbody” of funder Mark Elliott during a fiery cross examination at trial over the costs of the litigation.
A week after silk Norman O’Bryan dropped his defence against allegations of misconduct in the running of a class action over the failure of Banksia Securities, his junior counsel, Michael Symons, has also conceded defeat, telling a court he too should be struck off the practitioners’ roll.
A former QRx Pharma director’s prediction that shareholders would not receive “anything of consequence” from a class action settlement has proven true, with only a small slice of the $7 million settlement expected to go to shareholders.
Insurance policies that may be worth up to $46 million and have derailed settlement approval in two class actions against sandalwood producer Quintis were “cobbled together” and contained errors and omissions, a court has heard.
Two competing shareholder class actions against global winemaker and distributor Treasury Wine Estates over an earnings downgrade in January this year should be consolidated, and a judge should pick just one law firm to run the case, a court has heard.
ASX-listed generic drug maker Mayne Pharma is facing a possible shareholder class action over disclosures related to US price-fixing allegations against the ASX-listed company.
The High Court has denied a special leave application by the former directors of defunct financial advisory Storm Financial, after the Full Federal Court upheld a ruling finding they had breached their duties to eleven vulnerable investors by providing an inappropriate, one-size-fits-all model of investment advice.
Barrister Norman O’Bryan has accepted that he should be struck from the roll of legal practitioners after dropping his defence mid-trial against claims of professional misconduct as senior counsel for a class action financed by the late Mark Elliott, but the consequences for the once high-flying silk might not end there.
Maurice Blackburn did not breach its obligations by using material from a now settled class action against Treasury Wine Estates to draft new class action pleadings against the wine maker, a court has found.
After “unavoidable delays”, shareholders will soon be notified of a settlement reached one year ago in a class action against QRxPharma, but a company director has warned group members will receive nothing of consequence and the law firm and funder involved in the case would be disappointed by their takeaways.