Lawyers are allowed to take a cut from a class action settlement or judgment under a so-called solicitors’ common fund order, the Full Federal Court has ruled, saying they are a permissive use of the court’s power.
Hearing arguments Tuesday on whether lawyers should be permitted to earn contingency fees in Federal Court class actions, judges on a Full Court bench appeared to lean in favour of allowing so-called solicitors’ common fund orders, rejecting claims they are “unjust”.
A judge has resigned before delivering judgment in litigation that went to trial in 2020, and the colleague assigned the unenviable task of issuing a ruling has taken a swipe at his departing peer, noting the absence of medical or other evidence to explain her “unwillingness” to see the case through.
Logistics company GetSwift and its directors have dropped their challenge to a judgment that found the company breached its continuous disclosure obligations with its “PR-driven” approach to ASX statements.
Shareholders bringing a class action against Quintis have lost their bid for Ernst & Young to hand over documents from two meetings with a director of the sandalwood supplier, after a judge found they did not get “within a bull’s roar” of showing the accounting firm’s discovery was inadequate.
Insurance Australia Group is investigating the underwriter behind an allegedly unauthorised trade credit policy issued to Greensill Capital, according to a defence by the insurer in a $43 million case brought by a Credit Suisse supply chain fund left heavily exposed after Greensill’s collapse.
Five major banks including JPMorgan, Citibank and UBS have denied all wrongdoing in a class action accusing them of entering a cartel agreement to rig foreign exchange rates and argue the claims were brought out of time or are barred by settlements in overseas proceedings.
Logistics company GetSwift will argue on appeal that a judge who found the company took a “PR-driven approach” to ASX statements was wrong in his assessment of whether those statements contained material omissions.
Logistics company GetSwift and its directors are appealing a win for ASIC in the regulator’s case that alleged they breached their continuous disclosure obligations and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in the release of 22 ASX announcements.
A judge has dressed down ASIC over the handling of its action against GetSwift, criticising the regulator’s failure to seek a court injunction to prevent the company’s relocation to Canada.