Common fund orders in federal class actions could live to see another day, the Federal Court has indicated in new guidance to be released Friday, which swiftly responds to a recent judgment by the High Court that appeared to spell their doom.
Calling it the largest human rights case in Australia’s history, a judge has signed off on a $190 million settlement in a class action against the State of Queensland and approved the funder’s 20 per cent cut of the proceeds.
CBA subsidiary Avanteos Investments Limited has been hit with extra conditions on its superannuation licence by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority after it was revealed the investment management firm charged fees to thousands of deceased superannuation members.
Petrol station convenience store chain On The Run is facing a possible class action over allegations that it has underpaid employees at over 145 stores throughout South Australia.
Engineering firm GR Engineering Services has lost a negligence lawsuit brought against law firm Squire Patton Boggs seeking damages from an alleged breach of contract relating to the $12.5 million refurbishment of a gold processing plant in Davyhurst, Western Australia.
Coles has agreed to pay about $5.25 million to dairy co-operative Norco after an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found the supermarket giant failed to pass on the full price rise it charged consumers for Coles-branded fresh milk as it promised to do.
The end of the common fund order is a setback for class actions that will see a revival of the days of closed proceedings, costly bookbuilding, higher commission rates and the shelving of worthy but risky cases, experts say, and all eyes will now turn to state and federal governments to see how they respond to calls for legislative intervention.
Former Wallabies fullback Israel Folau has settled his lawsuit against Rugby Australia and NSW Rugby alleging his $5.7 million contract was unfairly terminated over homophobic social media posts.
More than a decade after the High Court ruled that third parties could finance legal proceedings in Australia, the court has issued another game changing decision that puts limits on what judges will do to help a litigation funder out. Here, Lawyerly gives you a quick guide to the key takeaways from Wednesday’s judgment.
Judges have no power to order all class action members to pay a proportion of a litigation funder’s commission out of their share of a settlement, the High Court has ruled in a landmark judgment that deals a huge defeat to litigation funders.