Judges have no power to order all class action members to pay a proportion of a litigation funder’s commission out of their share of a settlement, the High Court has ruled in a landmark judgment that deals a huge defeat to litigation funders.
Liquidators of collapsed steel and mining company Arrium will challenge a ruling that gave shareholders the greenlight to question a former director to mount a possible class action, and have secured a limited stay of the judgment to lodge a notice of appeal.
A judge on Tuesday questioned how elderly group members struggling with the digital age can register in a ‘junk’ insurance class action against National Australia Bank, amid the postponement of hearing to approve the $49.5 million settlement reached in the case.
A judge has rejected a proposal to jointly hear argument for approval of settlements in two class actions against milk supplier Murray Goulburn, saying the issues in one case — led by the legal team under scrutiny for alleged professional misconduct in a separate class action — could be more complicated.
The High Court is poised this week to issue its judgment in a case challenging the validity of common fund orders in class actions, a ruling that could see litigation funding commission rates creep back up after hitting record lows.
The liquidators of Atlas Construction have won access to advice supplied by law firm Ashurst as they pursue examination proceedings against two of the company’s former directors.
Investors who sank $12.3 million into a fraudulent sports betting scheme run by convicted conman Peter Foster lost money because a Sydney lawyer failed to come forward with the truth, a judge has found.
Arguing the court was wrong to rule that its trade mark was not inherently distinctive, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is challenging a judgment that revoked its 20-year-old mark for ‘Community Bank’.
The Federal Court judge overseeing three class actions against the Commonwealth of Australia over allegedly toxic firefighting foam has criticised the government’s handling of the case, saying the court did not have to ask permission for how to run the proceedings.
The Full Federal Court has handed a win to Hytera in its high-stakes intellectual property litigation with Motorola, allowing the Chinese radio manufacturer to file an amended defence arguing Motorola should have alerted it to the alleged theft of its source code by former employees sooner.