Class action lawyers should be able to enter into contingency fee arrangements, the Australian Law Reform Commission said Thursday as part of proposals to reform the country’s much maligned class action regime.
The litigation funder behind the Federal Court’s precedential ruling that established the first common fund order in an Australian class action has secured a $30.75 million payout in the case.
If Shine Lawyer’s upper damage estimate of $259 million is correct, the funder backing the Westpac life insurance class action would be entitled to a “windfall” of $77 million, the bank told the Federal Court Tuesday.
A Federal Court judge on Friday reluctantly approved a $12 million settlement in the long-running class action against Bank of Queensland, saying it left almost nothing for those affected by the notorious Sherwin Ponzi scheme.
Troubled sandalwood oil producer Quintis has been hit with a third class action over the company’s lost contract with Nestle unit Galderma, and this time its auditor, Ernst & Young, has been named as a co-defendant.
Three weeks after a court heard Bannister Law could be forced off a massive class action against Ford, Corrs Chambers Westgarth has joined the case to jointly act for the lead applicants.
Class actions brought by victims of the failed Willmott Forests managed investment scheme have come to a close, two years after a judge issued a stunning ruling rejecting an initial settlement as favoring clients of M&K Lawyers over other investors, and including payment of a hefty legal bill.
Boutique law firm Phi Finney McDonald has been chosen among three competing cases to lead a shareholder class action against GetSwift.
A decision on the fate of three class actions against logistics software company GetSwift is set for Wednesday, and counsel behind the competing cases aren’t the only lawyers waiting with baited breath.
A judge will allow a class action to go forward against fundraising company Appco Australia Group alleging it misclassified workers as independent contractors to avoid paying minimum wage, overtime, superannuation and other benefits.