The migration to the digital courtroom is taking its toll on the nation’s barristers, who face increased challenges and levels of fatigue from the mental load of conducting hearings remotely.
A judge has signed off on a proposal by two law firms to jointly run a consolidated class action against Allianz over add-on car insurance, shooting down the insurer’s argument that a beauty contest would promote competitive contingency fee rates.
Consolidation of two consumer class actions against Allianz would do away with competition in a contest to lead a single case that would force a drop in the contingency fee rates of the rival law firms, the insurance giant has told a court.
Dairy co-operative Fonterra has lost a bid to keep the company’s name out of the domain of a website to be set up for a class action brought by farmers alleging they were unlawfully underpaid when Fonterra slashed milk prices and sought a “clawback” in 2016.
A judge has ruled the plaintiffs in the Gladstone Ports class action cannot reserve the legal costs of an application to avoid disclosure of expert reports, despite finding they had raised a novel issue.
The Victorian government will argue for summary dismissal of two class actions filed over the bungled COVID-19 hotel quarantine program said to be responsible for the state’s second pandemic wave last year.
A judge has signed off on a settlement in two shareholder class actions against clothing retailer Surfstitch, but has capped the legal costs and commissions sought by the litigation funders after finding the law firms behind the cases sent out notices to group members that were “misleading” and “understated” the risks of joining the class.
The lead applicants in a $100 million class action against Gladstone Ports Corporation have lost their bid to shield an expert loss report from being revealed in an upcoming mediation.
A judge has approved a $9.5 million settlement in a class action against McMillan Shakespeare as fair and reasonable, allowing a common fund order and a nearly 30 percent commission for the litigation funder despite previously raising “real concerns” about the small portion flowing to group members.
The funder behind a class action against McMillan Shakespeare has warned against the court beating it up like a ‘pinata’ in a settlement approval hearing in which the judge expressed “real concerns” about the portion of a $9.5 million settlement earmarked for group members.