A judge overseeing a $192.5 million settlement in an oil spill class action against PTTEP Australia on behalf of Indonesian seaweed farmers has balked at the “very large” costs sought by Maurice Blackburn for administering the deal, expressing concerns that class action costs are “getting out of control”.
A judge has indicated he will approve settlements totalling $2.7 million reached with disgraced senior barrister Norman O’Bryan and a cost consultant retained by the legal team behind the Banksia class action fraud.
A $47 million settlement in a class action against ANZ — one of three settlements in a series of class actions against the big banks over ‘junk’ consumer credit insurance — was fair and reasonable, a judge has said.
A settlement with directors in an investor class action brought over the collapse of advisory firm Linchpin Capital is in the interests of group members, a judge has said.
A human rights group has told the Federal Court it will file for habeas corpus in a bid to compel the federal government to bring home Australians stuck in Syrian detention camps, with eight women, all Australian citizens, and 18 children being held in Camp Roj in the country’s northeast.
Shine Lawyers has been ordered to hand over its costs agreement with the lead applicant in a class action over norovirus outbreaks on Carnival’s Sun Princess cruise ship, amid a likely plan by the cruise operator to seek security for costs in the no win, no fee class action.
A judge overseeing a superannuation class action against two Westpac units that settled for $30 million has flagged the possibility of appointing a contradictor to examine the litigation funder’s claimed cut of the settlement, which includes a deduction of over $1 million to cover the costs of after-the-event insurance.
Sunshine Loans has lost its bid to have the Full Court weigh in on ASIC’s authority to seek penalties for Credit Code violations, in proceedings accusing the online lender of charging over $320,000 in prohibited fees.
A judge overseeing five lawsuits seeking compensation on behalf of AFL players who allegedly suffered brain injuries has set the stage for a class action beauty parade, as one law firm flags a possible sixth action.
Facebook has agreed to pay a $20 million penalty for misleading consumers by representing that its discontinued Onavo Protect mobile app would keep users’ personal activity data private, when in fact it was being collected for commercial use.