Omni Bridgeway

A judge has retroactively validated the appointment of BDO as auditor for litigation funder Omni Bridgeway after EY resigned due to a class action conflict, saying the failure to seek shareholder approval for the appointment was not the result of a blatant disregard for its obligations. 

Awaiting judgment in Federal Court class actions by shareholders over its money laundering risk disclosures, the Commonwealth Bank will ask the court to reopen the case to consider the relevance of two recent decisions that found shareholders in other class actions had failed to prove loss.

The federal government has hit back at a class action over an outbreak of white spot disease in South-East Queensland that decimated the commercial prawn industry, pointing the finger at several importers and saying farmers failed to mitigate their own losses.

A law firm is mulling a class action against Toyota over paint on certain Corolla models that allegedly peeled when exposed to sunlight or ultraviolet light, in alleged breach of the acceptable quality guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law. 

Perth-based homebuilder BGC Housing Group will face a class action on behalf of thousands of home owners who allege they have been harmed by lengthy construction delays.

Boutique law firm William Roberts has lured Omni Bridgeway's former managing director for Asia Pacific to grow its litigation team.

IG Markets has been hit with a class action on behalf of up to 20,000 everyday investors who have allegedly lost hundreds of millions of dollars trading in risky financial products known as contracts for difference, or CFDs.

Approved settlements in class actions since the regime was enacted are set to top $8 billion this year, according to a new report ranking the busiest litigation funders, which found most class action mega settlements were not funder backed.

A judge has approved a walk-away settlement with two former directors of RCR Tomlinson in a shareholder class action against the failed engineering company.

A landmark Federal Court class action against private health insurer Medibank will be a test case for when privacy claims can sidestep the regulatory path, and whether group members can prove they suffered loss from exposure of their data.