Settlement

When the Supreme Court of Victoria considers for the first time a settlement reached in a class action run on a contingency fee basis, it will grapple with some novel questions, including whether to trim the 27.5 per cent group costs order granted to Slater & Gordon at the outset of the case, legal experts say.

Australia’s largest childcare centre operator G8 Education has agreed to pay $46.5 million to settle a shareholder class action alleging the company failed to keep investors in the loop about factors affecting its 2017 financial performance, and the firm that ran the case is set to make $13 million after securing the first group costs order in Victoria.

On the eve of trial, rideshare giant Uber has agreed to pay $271.8 million to settle a five-year-old class action brought by taxi and hire car drivers in four states over the introduction of UberX.

A settlement of up to $1.325 million in an employment class action against labour hire firm Hays Specialist Recruitment has been approved, but a proposal by the applicant's law firm to increase a promised limit on costs in order to resolve a row with a funder has drawn a judge's ire.

Group members in a class action against Nine over its coverage of litigation related to the 2004 Palm Island riots will receive between $2,000 to $5,200 as part of a settlement reached to resolve the case.

A shareholder class action against livestock exporter Wellard is seeking approval for a $23 million settlement which will see only $7.86 million go to group members, telling the court that the funder and law firm that ran the case have agreed to take a haircut on the deductions they're entitled to.

National Australia Bank has resolved trade mark proceedings brought against US budgeting app You Need A Budget, alleging the YNAB app, which helps users manage their finances, steps on its well-known trade mark and will confuse Australians.

A class action representing thousands of junior doctors alleging they were systematically underpaid has settled with NSW Health for a confidential sum, but a related union case is set to continue.

The former head of brand marketing at Mecca Brand has dropped her lawsuit alleging the cosmetics retailer violated the Fair Work Act by making her position redundant after a period of maternity leave.

EFTPOS provider Tyro has secured a $10 million settlement in a lawsuit accusing a unit of Canadian firm Lightspeed of violating a restraint of trade clause by encouraging Tyro customers to adopt its own competing payment system.