Class action settlement totals skyrocketed to over $900 million last year, and one law firm negotiated the lion’s share, with $672 million in settlements under its belt.
National Australia Bank and HSBC should be “jointly and severally liable” to pay a portion of the costs of a failed case brought by Dick Smith’s receivers against the company’s former directors because the banks stood to gain financially if the lawsuit was successful, the NSW Supreme Court has heard.
The structural engineer behind Sydney’s ill-fated Opal Tower can examine whether builder Icon Co has been indemnified for $31 million worth of damage which occurred in the 36-storey apartment block on Christmas Eve of 2018, a court has found.
Dick Smith’s former CFO will appeal a $43 million judgment in favour of National Australia Bank over his role in the retailer’s collapse.
Prefab concrete company Evolution Precast Systems failed to install reinforced concrete in Sydney’s ill-fated Opal Tower and knew about a prior failure with one of the building’s panels, engineer WSP Structures alleges in a cross-claim lobbed in a class action on behalf of residents of the tower.
Dam operator Seqwater will find out this week if its decision not to settle with group members in a class action over the 2011 Queensland floods has paid off.
A judge has struck out allegations of fraud in a cross-claim brought by the operator of a NSW open-cut coal mine, which accused several contractors of knowingly understating the time and cost of expansion works to the tune of $52 million.
Third-party liability insurers may become the latest parties to be dragged into a complex class action over alleged defects in Sydney’s Opal Tower, which has has spawned six cross-claims so far.
A judge has awarded $43 million to National Australia Bank in its lawsuit against former directors of failed retailer Dick Smith, but threw out claims against company directors brought by HSBC and the retailer’s receivers.
Opal Tower builder Icon and structural engineer WSP Structures have been joined as defendants in a class action brought by property owners, who have also added a slew of consumer law claims to the complex proceedings.