A court has appointed a referee to examine whether a law firm’s communications with Golden Financial furthered a plan by the financial advisory firm to divert assets to minimise a penalty sought by the corporate regulator in the first case alleging a breach of the so-called best interest duty.
Class action settlement sums reached new highs last year, with the ten largest agreements totalling almost $1 billion, almost half of which was secured by one plaintiff law firm.
A judge has approved a $33 million settlement in a class action against vocational education provider Box Hill Institute, but taken the ax to a law firm’s proposed 18.25 per cent loading on its fees, saying courts shouldn’t approve uplifts for run of the mill legal work.
Vocational education provider Box Hill Institute has agreed to pay $33 million to settle a class action by students who allege the diploma they obtained through the institute did not give them the knowledge or training needed to obtain a commercial pilot’s licence.
Vocational education provider Box Hill Institute has reached an in-principle settlement in a class action by disgruntled students who allege the licences they obtained through the institute did not provide them with the requisite knowledge or training to obtain a commercial pilot’s licence.