A ruling Wednesday that struck down class closure orders — a device used by judges in class actions for the past two decades — has split the courts in Australia and is expected to head to the High Court.
An appeals court has overturned a ruling ordering class closure in seven representative proceedings against car makers over defective Takata airbags, finding courts do not have the power to make class closure orders.
The power of courts to choose a single winner from a contest of competing class actions is not the likely target of the High Court in taking up a challenge to last year’s beauty parade of shareholder proceedings against AMP, but the analysis behind the decision to award Maurice Blackburn the prize could face scrutiny, experts say.
The High Court has agreed to weigh in on a decision last year to pick Maurice Blackburn’s case as the winner of a beauty parade of shareholder class actions against AMP over the wealth manager’s controversial fees for no service.
Personal healthcare giant PZ Cussons is seeking indemnity costs from the ACCC, claiming the regulator unreasonably rejected a settlement offer in its case over an alleged laundry detergent cartel.
After almost five years of litigation, a Federal Court judge said he will approve a $127.1 million settlement of five class actions against Volkswagen over the diesel emissions scandal, but appeared unwilling to sign off on a 25 per cent uplift in fees sought by one of the plaintiffs firms.
Personal healthcare giant PZ Cussons is seeking $4.7 million in indemnity costs from the ACCC, claiming the regulator’s much hyped spoke and hub case over an alleged laundry detergent cartel was always “overwhelmingly likely” to fail.
An individual claimant accusing AMP Financial Planning of ignoring multiple attempts to gain remediation for alleged insurance re-writing conduct was granted permission to voice his displeasure in court, while ASIC and AMP grapple with the details of a remediation program for insurance churn victims.
The lead applicants in seven class actions against auto manufacturers over explosive Takata airbags have criticised the courts for losing their way in ensuring justice is done, in a landmark challenge to class closure orders made in the cases.
The Federal Court has imposed a penalty of almost $5.2 million on AMP Financial Planning after finding it was “reckless” in its “lamentable failure” to properly respond to a now banned adviser who was churning life insurance for higher commissions.