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Three years on from their debut, group costs orders -- which entitle law firms to a percentage of any recovery in class actions -- have raised a host of novel issues that are keeping lawyers and the court busy.
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 who eviscerated a prior bid by a law firm and funder to take home 60 per cent of a $5 million class action settlement with Tyro has allowed them to net half of the proceeds, questioning whether some of the costs amounted to a “complete breach” of legal professional duties.
The law firm that ran a class action over the 2009 Montara oil spill must compete to administer a $192.5 million settlement, with a judge saying a tendering process is consistent with the court's "protective and supervisory role" in managing costs deducted from class action settlements.
A judge has largely approved the funder's commission and legal fees to be deducted from a $192.5 million settlement of a class action against oil company PTTEP, despite the costs halving the amount to go to group members.
Sixteen law firms and accounting firms have thrown their hat in the ring to administer a $300 million settlement in two class actions against Johnson & Johnson over pelvic mesh devices that injured thousands of women.
The law firm running the Montara oil spill class action, which has settled for $192.5 million, is looking for a new lead applicant after the first one defected over concerns group members would lose half the settlement amount to legal costs and a funding commission.
A litigation funder has abandoned its case seeking to prevent counsel retained by the lead applicant in the settled Montara oil spill class action from providing independent legal advice.
The funder bankrolling the settled class action against oil exploration company PTTEP wants a court-ordered injunction against a barrister to prevent him from giving independent legal advice to the lead applicant about his claim.
In one of the year's biggest class action settlements, PTTEP Australasia has agreed to pay $192.5 million to settle a representative action over a 2009 oil spill that affected 15,000 Indonesian seaweed farmers.