Companies and government entities paid out less to settle class actions in 2023 than in the previous two years, with no mega settlements hitting their pocketbooks.
The funders that bankrolled a securities class action against collapsed engineering firm RCR Tomlinson will ask the court to give them an $8 million cut of a $40 million settlement. A further $12 million in legal fees means shareholders will get 50 per cent of the settlement sum.
Food manufacturer Noumi is trying to reach agreement with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on a penalty to propose to the court for violating its continuous disclosure obligations by overstating the value of inventory.
A judge has signed off on a $110 million settlement in a long-running shareholder class action against AMP over its fees-for-no-service conduct, including $26 million in costs for law firm Maurice Blackburn.
A judge has refused a bid by four major insurers to obtain the names of small businesses that register to join COVID-19 business interruption class actions, saying he did not want the companies contacting group members.
Maurice Blackburn will seek $26 million in costs from a $110 million settlement in a long-running class action against AMP over its fees-for-no-service conduct, leaving more than three-quarters of the settlement to be distributed to group members.
A former Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills partner who claims he was sacked for complaining about Lendlease’s attempts to avoid tax liability has asked the High Court to overrule a judgment finding recent changes to whistleblower protections do not apply retrospectively to cover his claims.
The judge who rewarded the law firm with the lowest ever GCO proposal with carriage of an $80 million class action this week noted the competitive forces that shaped a “very good deal for group members,” but competition has its downsides, experts say.
The winning, 14 per cent contingency fee proposal by Slater & Gordon in a fight to run a class action against Star Entertainment was not driven by a desire to prevail in the contest and buy market share but was the product of a “reasoned decision” that took into account the law firm’s practice as a whole, a judge has found.
One law firm has emerged victorious in a four-way contest to run a shareholder class action against Star Entertainment with the lowest proposed group costs order since contingency fees legislation was enacted in Victoria.