A ruling this week that rejected the first application for a group costs order in a class action because the applicants were better off with their existing no win, no fee arrangement was the right decision given the limits of the legislation, experts say.
Saying the interests of class action members “must be given primacy”, a judge has rejected the first bid for a group costs order in a class action since contingency fee legislation passed in Victoria.
Global resources giant BHP Group is seeking special leave from the High Court to appeal a ruling that rejected its bid to exclude foreign investors from a shareholder class action over the 2015 Fundao dam disaster.
Describing the federal government’s income-averaging debt collection program as a “shameful chapter”, a judge has approved a $112 million settlement in the Robodebt class action, saying the agreement was fair and reasonable.
A Victoria Supreme Court judge weighing for the first time an application by a law firm for a percentage cut of recoveries in class actions has been told to reject the bid because group members would fare better under the firm’s current no win, no fee funding arrangement.
Global resources giant BHP Group has lost an appeal in its fight to exclude foreign investors from a shareholder class action over the 2015 Fundao dam disaster, after arguing the class action regime applies only to those in Australia.
Global resources giant BHP Group has asked the Full Court to rule foreign investors should be excluded from a shareholder class action over the 2015 Fundao dam disaster, arguing the class action regime only applies to those in Australia.
The stage is set for a beauty parade of two shareholder class actions against Freedom Foods and Deloitte, and the judge overseeing the cases has embraced the recommendation of the High Court to appoint an independent barrister to represent group members in the contest.
A court-appointed contradictor has asked for changes to a $112 million settlement in the Robodebt class action against the federal government, saying it is unfair that some group members won’t receive financial compensation from the settlement, which had a “bigger set of losers” than normal.
The judge overseeing the Robodebt class action has raised concerns about the fairness of a $112 million settlement in the case, which will provide no financial benefit to some group members and will extinguish their rights to make claims against the federal government.