The lead applicant in an investor class action against Fitch Ratings will get its hands on internal reports detailing why the agency assigned a Triple A rating to Sigma Finance Corporation ahead of its 2008 collapse, and whether it could have predicted the fall of the $27 billion investment fund.
The Full Federal Court expressed doubts Tuesday about an “unusual” and “heavy handed” order restraining lawyers leading the stayed class actions against GetSwift from advising their clients about whether to opt out of the prevailing action.
The judge overseeing the GetSwift class action proceedings was bent on picking a winner from the outset and should be removed from the case for rehearing, a barrister for one of the losing law firms told the Full Federal Court Monday.
Law firm Squire Patton Boggs is again on the losing end of a ruling by the judge presiding over a shareholder class action against GetSwift, a case now better known for infighting among lawyers than for the allegations levelled against the tech startup.
A judge has found an arbitration proceeding between Eastern Goldfields Ltd and GR Engineering Services over a $12.5 million gold mine contract can proceed despite the involvement of Squire Patton Boggs and another party in the dispute.
The naming of Squire Patton Boggs as a concurrent wrongdoer in GetSwift’s defence puts the law firm in an “impossible position of conflict of interest” if it wins a challenge to an order staying its class action against the company, the Full Federal Court has been told ahead of a highly anticipated appeal hearing that promises to pull no punches.
The amicus hired to assess the funder’s cut of a potentially record settlement in several class actions against S&P Global over toxic financial products has told the judge that if he’s considering approving a funding equalisation order, he should “start with a blank piece of paper” in calculating a reasonable funder’s commission.
The judge weighing a record settlement in multiple class actions against S&P Global over toxic financial products said Tuesday there was “no way” he would sign off on the deal while it stipulated that all funds be returned to the ratings agency in the event the settlement amount is disclosed.
In what is believed to be an unprecedented move, logistics tech startup GetSwift has named law firm Squire Patton Boggs as a “concurrent wrongdoer” in the company’s defence of a shareholder class action.
A judge has issued a ruling on the procedure for reviewing documents for legal professional privilege that were seized from mining magnate Tony Sage by the Australian Federal Police, after a stalemate over the review process left the documents in legal limbo for five years.