A judge overseeing the settlement approval of an underpayments class action against telco contractor BSA has questioned whether litigation funders should receive commissions lower than the market rate for running employment class actions.
Telco contractor BSA has won a bid to ringfence a $13 million capital raising from a $20 million settlement reached with group members in a Shine Lawyers-led class action accusing the company of misclassifying its workforce of technicians as independent contractors.
A judge who will oversee an upcoming hearing for approval of a $20 million settlement in a class action against Optus contractor BSA has urged the parties to sever the funder’s commission and costs from the settlement to avoid delays in distribution to group members.
Technicians bringing a class action against BSA have argued it should double its first settlement payment using money raised in its 2022 prospectus after the telco contractor filed an “urgent” bid to ringfence capital raisings from the $20 million payout.
A class action on behalf of people who claim they developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after using Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer will argue the agrochemical giant should be hit with exemplary damages for its negligence in selling the herbicide, which the company allegedly knew caused cancer.
A former barrister has been struck off the roll of practitioners in NSW after it was found that he practised in the state for six years without a local practising certificate and lied to the Queensland Bar Association about the location of his practice.
A judge has indicated he will approve a confidential settlement in a class action brought by a litigation guardian of young Indigenous Australian detainees against the Northern Territory Government alleging human rights abuses.