A class action is being prepared on behalf of women who claim to have suffered complications from Allergan breast implants linked to a rare form of cancer.
On the first day of a seven-week trial, the applicant in a class action against Monsanto has taken aim at the agrochemical giant’s “same old approach” to undermining decades of evidence it says demonstrates the cancer-causing properties of popular weed killer Roundup.
A judge has approved a $41.45 million settlement in a pelvic mesh class action against manufacturers Covidien and TFS but has put off deciding on the costs of the firm that ran the case, saying it is “next to useless” when law firms appoint their own costs consultants.
Class actions throw up all manner of ethical conundrums, but a recent Federal Court decision has shined a light on the question of whether funders and law firms should take out loans to run class actions and whether they can charge the costs to group members.
Shine Lawyers has lost its bid to recover $32 million in interest on a loan it took out to run two pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson, with a judge finding it would make a “marginal settlement less than reasonable”.
Shine Lawyers’ bid to recoup “exorbitant” interest on a loan it took out to run pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson has raised new ethical dilemmas beyond the usual “sweaty palms and huge vexation” in most group proceedings, a judge has said.
A class action over pelvic mesh products supplied by device makers Covidien and TFS has reached a global resolution with the manufacturers and their insurers which brings the recovery total in settled mesh class action close to $450 million.
A class action on behalf of women injured by alleged defective pelvic mesh will not advise group members the estimated average return from the proceeds of a settlement against defunct device manufacturer TFS’ insurer because it would be “cruel”.
The judge overseeing a class action against Monsanto over its weed killer has rejected the agrochemical giant’s application to amend the common questions to be decided at a liability trial to account for its alternative defence.
The judge weighing the legal costs sought to be deducted from a $300 million settlement in pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson has questioned Shine Lawyers’ bid to make group members pay $32 million in interest incurred on a loan the firm took out at “credit card” rates.