KPMG has snagged heavy-hitters from Norton Rose Fulbright, Clayton Utz and Herbert Smith Freehills for its growing legal services team, adding strength to its financial services regulation, technology and telecom transactions, and government offerings.
Two rulings Friday keeping alive the common fund order are a ringing endorsement by the courts of the important role that litigation funders play in class actions, experts say, and have paved the way for more funded post-Hayne consumer litigation against banks and other financial services firms this year.
Common fund orders in class actions are legal and not unconstitutional, six judges found Friday after a history-making joint sitting of two appeals courts.
A state judge has ordered the litigation funders behind a group of federal class actions against AMP to pay the legal costs of their failed transfer applications, saying while he could not make the applicants pay, he could compel the funders to cough up the money.
Westpac-owned mortgage lender RAMS Financial Services breached a franchise agreement by failing to supply a Brisbane-based franchisee with information about nearby broker-originated customers, a judge has found.
The lead plaintiff in a class action alleging National Australia Bank pushed worthless credit card insurance onto its customers is disputing the bank’s claims that it had no power to negotiate the terms of the policies.
Judgments in two appeals challenging the legality of common fund orders issued by courts in class actions will be handed down this week, and the rulings could have a profound effect on how class actions are run by lawyers and their funders in the future.
The ACCC his hinted at what could be a record year for competition matters, with ACCC Chairman Rod Sims vowing to refer more cartel investigations for criminal prosecution and promising cases against banks and construction companies are on the horizon.
Pitcher Partners just found another reason to challenge a ruling that it owes $5.6 million in damages for concealing an accounting error from a client — a ruling that socks it with $3.3 million in legal costs for its “deceit”.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia wants a judge to ensure it doesn’t get hit with double the cost for work defending two shareholder class actions brought by rival plaintiffs law firms.