A claim by Treasury Wine Estates that Maurice Blackburn — but no other law firm — is prohibited from bringing a shareholder class action over disclosure breaches related to its US business had an “air of unreality” about it, a judge has said.
The Full Federal Court has thrown out an appeal by a former special counsel of HWL Ebsworth, ruling the senior practitioner was reasonably fired for violating the firm’s media policy in press interviews and not because of his political views.
The judge who last month approved a $29 million settlement in a consumer class action against Radio Rentals has held that courts have power to order part of a settlement sum to go to charitable causes where distributing the funds to group members is too hard or impossible.
Companies and other defendants forked over big sums last year to settle more than 20 class actions, with a total of at least $734 million being paid out. Here are the top 10 class action settlements and the law firms and funders that negotiated them.
A judge has given his seal of approval to a $29 million settlement that resolves a class action over Radio Rentals’ Rent, Try, $1 Buy scheme alleging customers were kept in the dark about the true cost of their rentals.
A Federal Court judge has expressed concerns about whether group members in three class actions against the Commonwealth over allegedly toxic firefighting foam will be blocked from pursuing personal injury claims related to the chemical.
After being flooded with phone calls by class members wanting a share of a recent $16.4 million settlement with Cash Converters, law firm Maurice Blackburn will implement an automated message system to handle queries from 164,000 group members in the settled class action against Radio Rentals.
The $29 million settlement in the Radio Rentals ‘Rent, Try, $1 Buy’ class action is back on track after concerns by former CEO James Marshall about uncertainty in the deed of settlement were resolved.
A judge has thrown out an unlawful dismissal case brought by former HWL Ebsworth special counsel against the firm, describing his arguments as “trivial” and “wholly unrealistic”.
Radio Rentals and its insurer, AIG, have reached a $29 million settlement in a consumer class action alleging the company pushed misleading ‘Rent, Try, $1 Buy’ leases onto vulnerable customers.