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.
APRA’s chairman has told Parliament that the regulator is “actively considering” what action it should take against Westpac in light of recent allegations by AUSTRAC that the bank breached anti-money laundering laws on 23 million occasions.
Embattled banking giant Westpac may be seeking to limit its potential liability in any shareholder class actions it may face in the wake of AUSTRAC’s lawsuit alleging 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, with the bank offering to refund some of those that purchased shares as part of a $2.5 billion capital raising.
Two Westpac units have defended their choice to charge higher superannuation fees, saying in their responses to a Slater and Gordon class action that customers received numerous positive benefits in exchange for the charges.
Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer has stepped down after admitting he was “ultimately accountable” for failures detailed in an AUSTRAC lawsuit alleging over 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
Slater and Gordon is planning class actions against ANZ and Westpac over allegedly worthless insurance, fresh off of winning a $49.5 million settlement in a junk insurance class action against the National Australia Bank.
Westpac has been hit with a lawsuit by AUSTRAC for its alleged “systemic” failure to comply with anti-money laundering and counter terrorism finance laws.
The corporate regulator has shot back at “exaggerated and inaccurate criticisms” that its updated responsible lending guidelines were to blame for lack of access to credit.
A judge has signed off on a settlement of a long-running class action against Westpac unit BankSA, and has ruled the law firm that brought the case has an equitable right to unpaid legal costs for investigating the case before it found a funder.
AMP, Asteron and Westpac have been singled out by ASIC for having higher than expected decline rates for total and permanent disability life insurance claims, in a new review by the corporate watchdog that also revealed a “concerningly high” 60 per cent rejection rate for some narrowly defined policies.