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.
A battle with the competition regulator over the proposed ANZ, Suncorp tie-up has begun, with the first clash involving a group of rival lenders that want their submissions to the ACCC kept under lock and key.
A judge has approved a bid to consolidate two shareholder class actions against Medibank over a cyberattack that affected 10 million customers, finding that having two firms on the record is better than a carriage contest.
A judge has endorsed Medibank’s bid to sue the OAIC so the court can weigh in on the health insurer’s bid to halt the regulator’s investigation in favour of a class action over its October data breach, saying the OAIC’s interference with the court proceedings could constitute a contempt of court.
A franchisee class action against United Petroleum over the installation of allegedly loss-making Pie Face stores at its franchise sites is fighting two applications for security for costs which it says can’t be met, as funders take little interest in the case.
A Chinese businessman behind the Latitude indoor trampoline park chain has failed in a lawsuit against his Australian co-investor, after claiming a share sale agreement between the two was breached when his partner decided to sell the business to competitor Bounce.
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.
NAB has told a court it should pay a $2 million penalty — not the $10 million proposed by ASIC — for engaging in unconscionable conduct by overcharging customers, saying the exact words used in the regulator’s concise statement accuse it only of a single contravention.