A $13 million commission sought by the funder that bankrolled the Opal Tower class action is stalling settlement approval, as debate continues over whether the funder can recoup the costs of after-the-event insurance from group members.
An appeals court has found that two former executives of collapsed electronics retailer Dick Smith should pay the company’s receivers $11.8 million in damages for approving a dividend payment the company could not afford.
A judge has granted a bid by the operator of Sydney’s billion-dollar Lane Cove tunnel to add a new claim in the five-year-old dispute alleging the concrete lining used in construction was defective.
Although the settlement sum has not been disclosed, court documents in the Opal Tower class action reveal the litigation funder backing the case will seek $13.2 million in commission when the parties appear before the court later this year.
A judge has indicated that he may allow concrete supplier Readymix to be drawn into a five-year-old dispute over alleged defects in the construction of Sydney’s billion-dollar Lane Cove tunnel.
The former CEO of failed electronics retailer Dick Smith should be held responsible for approving two dividend payments worth $28.5 million which the company could not afford to pay given it owed millions in unpaid bank loans and supplier debts, an appeals court has heard.
A long-running class action over the Opal Tower disaster has settled, along with two related cases over the defective building, as a five-week trial was set to begin.
The structural engineer behind Sydney’s Opal Tower has taken builder Icon’s insurers to court, arguing they should cover its costs in a class action brought on behalf of residents of the ill-fated building and related litigation.
The operators of Sydney’s Lane Cove Tunnel can rely on new expert evidence in their lawsuit against Thiess, John Holland and CIMIC over alleged defects in the construction of the billion-dollar tunnel, with a judge finding there is a public interest in discovering the true cause of any defects.
The law firms and barristers who defended former Dick Smith directors in sprawling litigation over the failure of the electronics retailer earned close to $68 million in fees, a court has heard.