A judge has expressed skepticism of Bannister Law’s plan to hire powerhouse US lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw the September 11th victims compensation and BP oil spill funds, to mediate class actions against Volkwagen over its emissions cheating scandal, saying the car maker had shown no interest in settling despite the risk of “horrendous” penalties.
Maurice Blackburn stands to walk away with $5.8 million for its work on a consumer class action against Cash Converters that resulted in a $16.4 million settlement.
And then there were four. Plaintiffs law firm Slater & Gordon wants to consolidate its AMP shareholder class action with Maurice Blackburn’s case and hand over the reins to its rival, a deal signed the day the Full Federal Court affirmed the power of judges to shut down competing class actions.
The showdown between five law firms vying to lead a class action over the AMP fees for no service scandal kicked off in the NSW Supreme Court Thursday with counsel for one case saying the contest, although costly and consuming, would ultimately be a win for all class action participants.
AMP’s advice executive Jack Regan, the witness who aired the firm’s fees-for-no-service dirty laundry at the Royal Commission, has retired, a day before five law firms compete to lead a class action over the scandal.
A judge overseeing the marathon hearing in the class action over the 2011 Queensland floods has allowed the lead applicant to submit further evidence after it claimed defendant Seqwater engaged in “trial by ambush”.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is open to a proposal to consolidate two shareholder class actions filed over alleged breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws, but will address any “devil in the details”, a lawyer for the bank told a court Tuesday.
A lingering dispute with the tax office remains, but the distribution of the record $795 million Black Saturday class actions settlement is substantially complete, according to a report out this week, and the proceedings, by the measure of at least one expert, show why the class action system in Australia is working.
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers said Wednesday it is expanding its class action against Uber, with the firm saying the total claim against the US ride-sharing company would likely dwarf any class action recovery in Australia’s history.
Former MP Mark Latham has agreed to settle a defamation case brought against him by the political editor of pop culture site Junkee, and he could be on the hook for a $100,000 payout.