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Two months after rejecting the deal because the litigation funder's cut appeared excessive, a judge has approved a $42 million class action settlement with Murray Goulburn while the funder keeps up the fight over its commission.
The High Court's ruling Wednesday that judges have no power to issue a common fund order in the initial phases of a class action does not bind them after a settlement has been reached, a Federal Court judge said Friday.
The close relationship between regulator action over corporate wrongdoing and private enforcement is an established and powerful means of recovering compensation for victims of corporate misconduct. Increased cooperation between regulators and litigants in class actions would remove a number of substantial barriers to private enforcement action, writes Slater and Gordon lawyer Caitlin Baker.
A judge on Tuesday questioned how elderly group members struggling with the digital age can register in a 'junk' insurance class action against National Australia Bank, amid the postponement of hearing to approve the $49.5 million settlement reached in the case.
A judge has rejected a proposal to jointly hear argument for approval of settlements in two class actions against milk supplier Murray Goulburn, saying the issues in one case -- led by the legal team under scrutiny for alleged professional misconduct in a separate class action -- could be more complicated.
Accounting giant Ernst & Young, which has been dragged into two class actions by Slater & Gordon shareholders, has shot back at claims it was negligent in its 2015 audit report of the law firm's UK division, which included a review of the firm's disastrous acquisition of Quindell's professional services arm that found no impairment on the goodwill value of the deal.
Plaintiffs lawyers running class actions in Victoria will be free to charge contingency fees under new legislation introduced by the Labor government this week, a move that will see a boost in class actions brought in the state and has prompted calls for the Federal Government to follow suit.
The litigation funder financing the second of two recently settled shareholder class actions against Murray Goulburn will face similar scrutiny over its commission as the funder behind the first action.
Infant food maker Bellamy's has agreed to pay $49.7 million to settle two shareholder class actions alleging the company misled investors in 2016 about its China growth strategy and declining infant formula market share in Australia.
Two Westpac units have defended their choice to charge higher superannuation fees, saying in their responses to a Slater and Gordon class action that customers received numerous positive benefits in exchange for the charges.