Virgin Australia’s insurers may be dragged into a class action accusing the airline of failing to disclose its true financial position in a 2019 prospectus for a $324 million capital raising.
A judge overseeing a class action against a unit of Suncorp Group has given his blessing to a settlement that will see only $14 million of its headline $33 million figure go to super members, despite finding the modest return was “far short of the maximum potential recovery” in the case.
The applicant in an investor class action against Virgin Australia plans to appeal a judge’s decision requiring litigation funder Balance Legal Capital UK to give the airline an indemnity in order to bring the proceedings, saying the indemnity “substantially changes the risk calculus” for group members.
A judge has ruled that a litigation funder for an investor class action against Virgin must give the airline an indemnity to bring proceedings despite finding a deed of company arrangement requiring the pay-out “didn’t make sense”.
Virgin Airlines has argued a litigation funder’s indemnity for its legal costs is not enough for it to bring a class action on behalf of bond holders over a 2019 prospectus, claiming the airline expects to spend more than $5 million defending the proceedings.
A judge has allowed four ex-Linchpin directors facing possible fines by ASIC to put off filing evidence or amended defences in an investor class action after they claimed it would put them at risk of penalty in the corporate regulator’s proceedings.
Two insurers have won an appeal that blocks group members in a class action against sandalwood producer Quintis from receiving a further $11.25 million after a settlement was reached almost two years ago.
Explaining his decision to reject a class action settlement that would have earned a law firm $1.75 million but provided nothing to 27,000 Woolworths employees, a judge has said the agreement created a conflict of interest between the solicitors and the workers they sought to set “adrift”.
Online trading platform IronFX has won its action against the Australian Financial Complaints Authority over a finding it wrongfully caused an 83 year-old French resident to lose his life savings.
Saying it will only benefit the law firm and lead applicants, a judge has refused to approve a settlement in an underpayments class action against supermarket giant Woolworths, which would see no payout to employees.