The plaintiffs firms running rival shareholder class actions against construction giant Lendlease have pitched a proposal to join their competing cases, a plan that should find favour with the judge overseeing the cases, who recently forced the consolidation of three duplicate class actions against failed engineering firm RCR Tomlinson.
A Federal Court judge has dismissed an application by GetSwift to delay the hearing of a shareholder class action against it, despite arguments that a judge would need to be “superhuman” to hear the trial immediately after a civil penalty hearing brought by ASIC against the logistics company.
Activist US short seller Bonitas Research has welcomed legal action filed against it by agricultural fund manager Rural Funds Group as a chance for “investors to know the truth”, while also doubling down on the accusations of fraud at the centre of the case that sent the group’s share price plummeting.
The plaintiffs in one of two shareholder class actions brought against troubled sandalwood producer Quintis have complained about potential delays that could result from the “overly complicated loss theory” being advanced in a parallel class action.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is seeking evidence from US proceedings in its case against Rio Tinto alleging the mining giant misled shareholders about a Mozambique mining company purchased for US$4.2 billion.
A judge has consolidated two concurrent cases against the former directors and auditors of collapsed construction company Forge Group, after warning the overlapping actions needed to be carefully managed to avoid it becoming an “unrideable bull”.
WorleyParsons has abandoned its mid-trial application to shut down a shareholder class action, amid uncertainty about whether the engineering company would be required to surrender its right to call reply evidence if it continued with its submission that it has no case to answer.
Counsel for WorleyParsons has denied the engineering firm’s attempt to end a shareholder class action mid-trial would be the start of a “brave new world” of no-case bids in representative proceedings, saying this was a rare instance of a case with “no chance of success”.
Crown Resorts has been given the greenlight to challenge a court order allowing former employees to talk to lawyers for a class action over its business in China, but the class has another chance to make its case that the ruling should stand.
Concerns about duplicative costs in multiple class actions are better addressed by case management decisions aimed at cutting excessive expense, not by limiting the amount lawyers representing group members can spend, the Full Federal Court has said in dismissing an appeal by baby food maker Bellamy’s.