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Judge orders ‘soft’ class closure in flex commissions class actions
Class Actions 2023-07-21 10:53 pm By Cindy Cameronne

Westpac, Macquarie and ANZ have won soft class closure orders ahead of mediation in three class actions over flexible commissions schemes after a judge found they will improve the chances of settlement.  In a judgment handed down on Thursday, Victoria Supreme Court Justice Lisa Nichols ordered that group members have to formally register in the…

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Misconduct exception doesn’t apply in Uber class action privilege fight
Class Actions 2023-06-30 11:52 am By Sam Matthews

In the latest skirmish over documents in two class actions, Uber has mostly won a bid to shield almost 150 documents on the grounds of privilege, with a judge finding the misconduct exception that has previously bedevilled the rideshare giant did not apply.

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Firm with lowest contingency fee wins praise in Star class action beauty parade
Class Actions 2023-06-28 11:41 pm By Sam Matthews

As the knives come out in a contest between four law firms battling to run an $80 million class action against Star Entertainment, a court-appointed barrister has named his favourites – one of which has proposed a contingency fee of just 14 per cent.

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No win, no fee model bashed in four-way fight to run Star class action
Class Actions 2023-06-27 11:36 pm By Sam Matthews

Three firms fighting for carriage of a $80 million class action against Star Entertainment say a group costs order would guard against ‘costs blowouts’ in the case and have urged a judge to ditch a no win, no fee proposal brought by fourth-to-file firm Shine Lawyers.

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Trial questions won’t be revised to give Monsanto ‘layer of insurance’ in class action
Product Liability 2023-06-22 11:47 am By Sam Matthews

The judge overseeing a class action against Monsanto over its weed killer has rejected the agrochemical giant’s application to amend the common questions to be decided at a liability trial to account for its alternative defence.

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‘Completely at sea’: Banks push for class closure in flex commissions cases
Class Actions 2023-06-02 10:33 pm By Sam Matthews

Westpac, Macquarie and ANZ are seeking class closure orders ahead of mediation in three class actions over flexible commissions schemes, telling a court hearing they will be “completely at sea” without a better idea of the class size.

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Class action firm’s potential profit from Arrium case not relevant to security sum: judge
Class Actions 2023-03-10 3:10 pm By Sam Matthews

A judge overseeing a security dispute in a shareholder class action against KPMG and former directors of Arrium has found that potential profits to the plaintiff law firm running the case under a group costs order is not relevant to determining the quantum of security for costs.

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Court wants to avoid judgment of ‘hundreds of pages’ in Monsanto class action
Class Actions 2023-03-08 3:43 pm By Sam Matthews

A busy judge has pushed the parties in a class action against agrochemical giant Monsanto to split the trial to focus first on the question of whether the company’s Roundup weed killer causes cancer so that he can avoid writing a judgment of “hundreds and hundreds” of pages.

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Firm’s contingency fee re-do wins over judge in class actions against banks
Class Actions 2023-03-03 5:50 pm By Cindy Cameronne

A law firm has won its second bid for a group costs order in three class actions against banks over flexible commission schemes after a judge in 2021 rejected what was then the first-ever application for a contingency fee.

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Law firm shaves 0.5% off payout in second go at class action contingency fee
Class Actions 2023-02-23 5:11 pm By Cindy Cameronne

Maurice Blackburn has had a second crack at a group costs order in three class actions against banks over alleged flexible commission schemes after a judge in 2021 rejected what was then the first-ever application for a contingency fee.

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