Most Recent
Judge spends Sunday drafting orders after ‘highly unsatisfactory’ conduct in Toyota class action
A judge has criticised the parties for failing to comply with orders made in a class action against Toyota over allegedly defective filters in the car giant's diesel models, and spent half his weekend preparing new orders for both sides.
Lead applicant breaks down during cross-examination in Ford class action trial
The lead applicant in a class action against Ford over its allegedly defective PowerShift transmission broke down after being accused of lying under oath during a heated virtual cross-examination by the car company's barrister.
VW carve-out settlement may become more popular as class action scrutiny heats up
The settlement arrangement resolving five class actions against Volkswagen, which carved out hefty legal fees from the $120 million payout to drivers, could become more prevalent as the spotlight is once again trained on the cost of class actions. But the approach is not without controversy, experts say.
Court suppresses details of Grosvenor, Vannin co-funding agreement
A court has granted a request from Grosvenor Litigation Services, the funder that backed two class actions against Volkswagen over its emissions cheating scandal, to suppress the details of a co-funding agreement with Vannin Capital.
In a first, judge says High Court dealt CFOs a total knockout
A judge has found that the High Court's landmark ruling last year blocking common fund orders in the early stages of a class action also barred them from being made at the conclusion of a proceeding, departing from several recent rulings on common fund orders.
Judge greenlights law firm’s $43M payday in VW class actions
After almost five years before the courts, a judge has approved an approximately $120 million settlement of five class actions against Volkswagen over the diesel emissions scandal, including a "very substantial" $43 million in fees and disbursements for one of the plaintiffs firms.
ACCC says lower fine ‘appropriate’ in VW appeal of record $125M ‘dieselgate’ penalty
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission maintains its $75 million settlement agreement with Volkswagen over the emissions cheating scandal was “appropriate”, as VW progresses its appeal of the $125 million penalty imposed by a judge who called the ACCC agreement “manifestly inadequate”.
Judge to approve $127M VW class action settlement, but 25% uplift may be axed
After almost five years of litigation, a Federal Court judge said he will approve a $127.1 million settlement of five class actions against Volkswagen over the diesel emissions scandal, but appeared unwilling to sign off on a 25 per cent uplift in fees sought by one of the plaintiffs firms.
Federal Court grapples with own practice note in IAG insurance class action
With the common fund order tossed in a class action against two IAG entities over allegedly worthless add-on insurance, a Federal Court judge on Tuesday was asked to grapple with a practice note in determining when to notify group members of a possible order to "equitably and fairly" distribute the legal costs and funding commission in the proceedings.
Top 10 class action settlements of 2019
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.