Sixteen law firms and accounting firms have thrown their hat in the ring to administer a $300 million settlement in two class actions against Johnson & Johnson over pelvic mesh devices that injured thousands of women.
A contradictor appointed in two pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson has blasted a $300 million settlement, calling it “massively” short of what is owed to group members, after a judge preliminarily found the sum was not fair and reasonable.
Law firm Atanaskovic Hartnell and founding partner John Atanaskovic have been ordered to pay penalties of $184,680 to a former general manager, on top of a previous $160,000 judgment for engaging in what a judge said was a campaign to “abuse, belittle and victimise” the woman.
A judge has opened the administration of a $300 million settlement in a pelvic mesh class action to a competitive bidding process, shortly after another judge said law firms were not uniquely qualified to distribute class action spoils.
Class action settlement sums reached new highs last year, with the ten largest agreements totalling almost $1 billion, almost half of which was secured by one plaintiff law firm.
A contradictor in two pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson has opposed Shine Lawyers recovering $100 million in costs from a $300 million settlement, which a judge has preliminarily found is not fair and reasonable to group members.
Commonwealth Bank units CommSec and Australian Investments Exchange have been ordered to pay more than $27 million for “serious and unacceptable” system failures that led to excessive fee charges for customers.
Commonwealth Bank unit CommSec has agreed to pay a $20 million penalty for a series of “serious and unacceptable” failures that lead to excessive fee charges, a court has heard.
A judge has ordered the ACCC to pay the State of NSW’s costs in its failed proceeding against NSW Ports, finding that even though the consumer watchdog did not initially sue the state government that it was a “necessary and proper” party to the case.
Lawyerly’s Litigation Firms of 2020 delivered significant victories for clients last year in bet-the-company matters, thriving in a tumultuous year that saw courts and litigants adapt to virtual trials and other new norms that are sure to outlast the COVID-19 pandemic.