Slater & Gordon

A judge considering bids to de-class COVID-19 business interruption class actions has said group members can sign up for the representative proceedings but later decide to make claims directly with their insurers.

A judge has approved a bid to consolidate two shareholder class actions against Medibank over a cyberattack that affected 10 million customers, finding that having two firms on the record is better than a carriage contest.

Two units of insurer IAG are facing possible class actions that mirror claims in proceedings brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission last week that accuse the insurer of misleading home owners insurance customers about loyalty discounts.

A self-managed superannuation that has taken Slater & Gordon to court over the acquisition of its shares in the firm by Allegro Funds is seeking to join the private equity firm to the proceeding.

A shareholder class action has been filed against medical glove manufacturer Ansell Limited following an earnings guidance downgrade blamed on COVID-19.

A class action against Optus over a cyberattack that left the data of up to 10 million customers exposed is seeking access to an independent report prepared by Deloitte into the causes of the hack.

A judge asked to approve a $50 million settlement in a consumer credit insurance class action against the Commonwealth Bank has questioned a $2.5 million deduction for professional services firm Deloitte.

ANZ's $47 million settlement of a class action over its consumer credit insurance has been given the nod by a judge, who has also approved recovery of the cost of after-the-event insurance held by the law firm running the case.

Slater and Gordon has agreed to consolidate its data breach class action against Medibank with one brought by Baker McKenzie, after the judge overseeing the cases railed against competing class actions.

A judge overseeing a class action over the Optus data breach will order the Information Commissioner to appear in court to explain the “delay and uncertainty” surrounding a number of representative complaints before the OAIC which are hampering the court proceedings.