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.
Philips Electronics will not face a class action in Australia over recalled sleep apnea machines that contained a foam component that could degrade and cause consumers to inhale dangerous chemicals, after the law firm running the litigation decided to drop the case.
Boral has won its bid to shield from shareholders in a class action three investigative reports, including one by accounting giant EY, concerning financial irregularities in the construction company’s North America windows business.
A judge overseeing a class action against a unit of Suncorp Group has given his blessing to a settlement that will see only $14 million of its headline $33 million figure go to super members, despite finding the modest return was “far short of the maximum potential recovery” in the case.
Facebook owner Meta has filed a bid to pause a case by the consumer regulator over scam cryptocurrency advertisements until the determination of a private criminal action brought by mining magnate Andrew Forrest.
Facebook-owner Meta has lost its bid for broad non-publication orders in its battle with the ACCC over material it says could prejudice jury members in criminal proceedings by mining magnate Andrew Forrest.
Despite noting that a class action trial and appeal were “unusual”, a judge overseeing a long-running class action against Ford has refused an application to send a notice to group members about a coming appeal in the case.
A judge has declined to pass on a senior barrister’s $18,000 cancellation fee as part of an adverse costs order for a vacated trial, noting that such fees are not standard or common practice.
The largest shareholder in payday lender Nimble has lost its challenge to a decision blocking it from accessing company documents about an impending debt refinance, with an appeals court finding the investor’s concerns had “an air of commercial unreality”.
The settlement figure in a class action against a unit of Suncorp Group has been revealed as $33 million, and super members are set to share in the net sum of $14 million, or 42.5 per cent of the deal.