Controversial legislation advanced by the Morrison government that will weaken the country’s continuous disclosure laws and make it harder to bring shareholder class actions has cleared the Senate.
The Federal Court has given the greenlight to a $30 million settlement in Shine Lawyers’ insurance class action against Westpac and will allow post-settlement registration notices to be sent to group members.
The former senior counsel in a settled insurance class action against Westpac has had his fees reduced by $70,000 after the Federal Court heard some of the work for which he charged was not done in the interests of group members.
The Star Entertainment Group will not be able to recoup losses at its casinos and hotels stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, after a judge found the company’s $4 billion industrial special risks policy did not cover financial losses from government-imposed restrictions.
Financial services giant Willis Towers Watson ordered a former executive to lie to clients on his way out of the organisation and imposed an “unreasonable” two-year employment restraint, a NSW Supreme Court has found.
Brick by brick, the claim that funded class actions are the primary driver of rising directors’ liability insurance premiums is being dismantled. Even more precarious is the claim that the Commonwealth government’s continuous disclosure reforms are the answer and will result in enormous savings for Australian business, says Omni Bridgeway managing director and CEO Andrew Saker.
A judge has put off next month’s trial in one of two class actions brought by local councils against insurance JLT Risk Solutions over allegedly excessive premiums, but said the adjournment application would likely have failed if either side had put up a fight.
The Full Federal Court has found that Liberty Mutual Insurance, but not QBE, is required to cover Icon Construction’s losses stemming from the Opal Tower disaster, which has caused the builder $31 million in losses.
A judge has questioned the legal disbursements sought to be approved in a $30 million class action settlement against Westpac over allegedly excessive life insurance premiums, particularly the “extraordinarily large” barrister fees charged in the case.
A judge has allowed a key US-based witness in ASIC’s case against former Quintis director Frank Wilson who will not submit to 14 days in hotel quarantine to give evidence by video link.