The law firm running a shareholder class action against WiseTech is seeking a group costs order that would give it a 35 per cent cut of any settlement, arguing the relatively high rate was justified by the risks of running the case.
A judge has OK’d a settlement in a class action against Treasury Wine Estates, along with $27 million in fees charged by Maurice Blackburn and Slater & Gordon, after initially questioning the difference between the firms’ rates.
A judge has balked at Maurice Blackburn’s hourly rates in a jointly run class action against Treasury Wine Estates, questioning why the firm charged 20 per cent more than fellow preeminent class action firm Slater & Gordon.
A $67 million settlement has been reached in a class action alleging Queensland-based superannuation fund QSuper overcharged members for life insurance premiums.
A judge has declined an early bid for broad discovery in a shareholder class action against tech firm WiseTech, after hearing it would require the production of “truckloads” of irrelevant material.
Class action settlements leaped in value last year, with three settlements topping the $200 million mark.
A judge has reluctantly granted extensions in a class action over QSuper’s alleged failure to notify members of changes to its premiums, saying the delay in the two-year old case was “very disappointing”.
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.