A landmark Federal Court class action against private health insurer Medibank will be a test case for when privacy claims can sidestep the regulatory path, and whether group members can prove they suffered loss from exposure of their data.
A recent ruling cutting the contingency fee sought by a plaintiff law firm shows competition to run class actions will drive down the percentage payout courts are willing to permit. And as more firms enter the market for a slice of the returns, the downward pressure on profits will only build.
A judge’s recent ruling throwing out an expert report in a trade secrets case because the law firm briefing the expert had failed to disclose its involvement in preparing the evidence is a stark reminder to solicitors their paramount duty is to the court, not to their client.
If evidence were needed that courts are not rubber stamping class action settlements, the scrutiny of multi-million dollar agreements in 2021 is proof positive that judicial oversight of representative proceedings is robust.
More than 18 months after a split emerged among the courts, the Full Federal Court will weigh in on whether judges have power to shut out unregistered group members from a class action. But given the breadth of the question for the appeals court, the issue is unlikely to be resolved there.
A ruling this week that rejected the first application for a group costs order in a class action because the applicants were better off with their existing no win, no fee arrangement was the right decision given the limits of the legislation, experts say.
The power to make common fund orders in class actions is a question before the High Court a second time, but the justices aren’t likely to quell the conflict simmering in the courts below, at least until they have a concrete order before them.
Lawyers welcomed the government’s “overdue” announcement of a so-called patent box that will slash the tax rate on income derived from patented drug and biotech inventions developed in Australia, but called on the government to apply the regime to other sectors.
As the no win, no fee model comes out on top in another high profile class action beauty contest, legal experts say third-party litigation funders will need to evolve and “fight back” to stay competitive.
Facing laws strongly favouring plaintiffs and defamation claims based on allegations of an historic rape with no witnesses, the ABC has an uphill battle in defending itself against Attorney-General Christian Porter’s case alleging the national broadcaster engaged in a campaign to destroy his reputation, experts say.