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The firm that represented the funder of the notorious Banksia class action faces potential proceedings by a group of debenture holders. Meanwhile, Banksia's receiver wants a court direction that he is justified in not pursuing the lawyers.
Telstra's case against two family members of a former employee accused of stealing millions of dollars in phones and other electronics has been paused pending the outcome of criminal proceedings, with a court finding the telco's pursuit of proceeds of the alleged crime would prejudice the pair's right to silence.
An appeals court has shot down funder Augusta's challenge to a decision that cut its commission in the Opal Tower class action, putting funders on notice that they will have to marshal compelling evidence to win approval for their returns from an increasingly watchful court.
Senior restructuring and insolvency lawyers have welcomed a novel ruling that found a liquidator was entitled to claim his costs ahead of the preferred claims of company employees, but questions remain about the "potentially difficult" interaction between two conflicting priority regimes.
In a novel decision, a judge has found that a liquidator is entitled to claim his “arguably disproportionate” costs ahead of the preferred claims of company employees.
The funder in the Opal Tower class action has appealed a judge's decision to slash its commission for not disclosing proposed deductions from the settlement sum as percentages, telling the Full Court that group members could do "simple arithmetic".
Courts stepped up their scrutiny of class action settlements in 2022, with judges grappling with difficult issues such as funding commissions in employment cases and whether settlements, even those worth hundreds of millions of dollars, were fair to group members.
A $13 million commission sought by the funder that bankrolled the Opal Tower class action is stalling settlement approval, as debate continues over whether the funder can recoup the costs of after-the-event insurance from group members.
The special purpose receiver acting for debenture holders of defunct Banksia Securities was right to reject a confidential settlement -- believed to be for $10.6 million -- offered by the disgraced lawyers behind a scandal-ridden class action, a court has found.
Although the settlement sum has not been disclosed, court documents in the Opal Tower class action reveal the litigation funder backing the case will seek $13.2 million in commission when the parties appear before the court later this year.