Insurance

A $25 million settlement has been reached in three long-running shareholder class actions over the collapse of electronics retailer Dick Smith, under which the funders that backed the litigation will not recover their costs and shareholders recoveries will be small.

Law firm Clayton Utz and litigation funder Investor Claim Partners have joined forces to bring a class action against insurers who have denied business interruption claims by business impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

At least five law firms are investigating lawsuits, including class action proceedings, in the wake of a landmark test case on COVID-19 exclusions for business interruption cover.

Payouts in class actions in 2020 largely kept pace with the previous year despite the financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, with companies and other defendants paying more than $696 million to settle class actions last year.

Two law firms that have filed competing class action against AMP over allegedly excessive insurance premiums have changed tack and agreed to consolidate the proceedings.

The Full Federal Court has issued a mixed bag ruling in a business interruption insurance dispute between Suncorp subsidiary Vero Insurance and a Melbourne café and restaurant, which sought indemnity for losses incurred during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

The Insurance Council of Australia has asked the High Court to weigh in on its case against COVID-19 related claims in business interruption policies, following its high stakes loss in a ruling last month that found an infectious disease exclusion did not apply.

A judge has signalled his intention to sign off on a $138 million settlement in a class action against IAG and approve a common fund order that gives the litigation funder a $34.5 million commission, but an application by the funder for reimbursement of after-the-event insurance has been refused.

A judge will appoint an independent barrister to determine the allocation of settlement proceeds between insured group members and their insurers from two St Patrick's Day bushfire class actions, finding that the 'overly combative' conduct of law firm Maddens warranted the appointment despite the extra costs involved.

The prefab concrete specialist behind Sydney's Opal Tower has appealed a ruling letting its insurers off the hook to pay costs in advance incurred in defending cross-claims in two lawsuits over the ill-fated tower.