Law firms have railed against proposed legislation to ensure group members receive 70 per cent of any recoveries from class actions, saying the reforms were designed to “cripple” group proceedings.
A $78 million class action against National Australia Bank and Walton Construction seeking compensation for sub-contractors after the company’s collapse has halted as lawyers scramble to comply with the managed investment scheme requirements for funded class actions implemented by the Morrison government.
The Morrison government has released draft legislation claimed to “promote a fair and reasonable distribution of class action proceeds” that includes a proposed 30 per cent cap on the amount funders and lawyers can recoup.
The New Zealand arms of ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank have been hit with a multimillion dollar class action alleging they have failed to repay fees and interest wrongly charged to 150,000 customers who took out home or personal loans with the banks.
The Morrison government has been hit with a class action on behalf of Indigenous Australians who allege that, because of differences in life expectancy, they do not have fair and equal access to the age pension.
While acknowledging it was a ‘loaded’ word, a judge has rejected a bid by the federal government to edit out the word ‘stolen’ from a notice to members of the third stolen wages class action brought by Shine Lawyers.
Logistics company GetSwift’s settlement of a shareholder class action will see group members share in $1.5 million cash plus access to further funds and revenue raised by the company over a three-year period.
An interlocutory decision in a class action against superannuation trustee Colonial First State Investments may have significant implications for how cases against super fund trustees are litigated in the future, says Slater & Gordon’s Jessica Zarkovic and Joel Gilbourd.
A judge overstepped in throwing out a class action against two National Australia Bank units over alleged MySuper mismanagement because of a carveout in the Victorian Supreme Court Act which bars class actions involving trust property, an appeals court has heard.
NSW Health wants to amend its defence to an underpayments class action on behalf of 24,000 junior doctors, bringing claims that the lead applicant is barred from seeking compensation for group members under industrial relations law.