Most Recent
‘I never liked common fund orders anyway’: Judge gives thumbs up to High Court ruling
Alexander Edwards 2020-02-28 12:53 pm By Miklos Bolza Sydney
A  judge overseeing a shareholder class action against collapsed engineering group RCR Tomlinson has said goodbye to the common fund order in the case while welcoming last year's High Court decision preventing these orders from being made at the early stage in class actions.
Government reaches settlement in toxic foam class actions
Class Actions 2020-02-27 10:55 am By Cat Fredenburgh Melbourne
A settlement has been reached in three class action against the Commonwealth of Australia over the use of allegedly toxic firefighting foam at government military bases.
New shareholder class action against IOOF alleges extensive misconduct
Class Actions 2020-02-24 3:00 am By Christine Caulfield Melbourne
Financial services provider IOOF may have beaten back regulatory action, but it still faces the wrath of shareholders, with a new class action claiming the firm engaged in corporate misconduct that includes insider trading, front running and breaches of trustee duties.
Westpac slams Shine’s ‘sales pitch’ in class action opt out notice
Alec Leopold 2020-02-21 10:21 pm By Miklos Bolza Sydney
Westpac has criticised Shine Lawyers for allegedly turning a registration and opt out notice to class action members into a 'sales pitch' designed to book-build for the firm, saying the High Court's recent common fund ruling forbade approval of anything designed to boost the commercial viability of a case.
Funder to continue backing Westpac insurance class action, for now
Alec Leopold 2020-02-12 11:43 am By Miklos Bolza Sydney
The funder behind a class action against Westpac over allegedly excessive insurance premiums has confirmed that it will continue backing the case despite earlier concerns it may pull out in the wake of the High Court's landmark ruling on common fund orders.
AMP to face class action over sale of ‘inflated’ insurance policies
AMP 2020-02-12 10:29 am By Cat Fredenburgh Melbourne
AMP will face a class action alleging its financial representatives pushed AMP inflated insurance policies onto 100,000 customers despite knowing that better policies could be found through other providers.
Federal Court may not cede class action ground to Victoria if contingency fee bill passes
Analysis 2020-02-11 9:46 pm By Christine Caulfield Melbourne
With Victoria set to pass legislation permitting law firms to charge contingency fees, experts have raised fears of an exodus of class actions from other states and the federal system. But the Federal Court, which hears about two-thirds of Australia's representative proceedings, is not likely to surrender easily.
Royal commission class actions keep rolling in, one year after Hayne report
AMP 2020-01-23 7:13 pm By Christine Caulfield Melbourne
A year after Commissioner Kenneth Hayne released his scathing report, companies in the financial services sector are still facing fresh class actions over conduct aired at the banking royal commission, and the pace has even picked up in recent months.
Commonwealth Bank’s Colonial First State hit with fourth class action
Class Actions 2020-01-22 9:32 pm By Christine Caulfield Melbourne
Commonwealth Bank's wealth management unit Colonial First State Investments faces a new class action on behalf of hundreds of thousands of customers who were allegedly charged excesssive premiums on insurance policies.
IMF poised to take over class actions from rival funders rattled by common fund ruling
Appeals 2020-01-20 3:57 pm By Miklos Bolza
Litigation funder IMF Bentham has shrugged off concerns about the High Court's recent ruling on common fund orders, telling investors that it's in a position to take over some class actions from funders daunted by the prospect of bookbuilding.