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Judge discontinues council class action against insurer JLT, won’t pause clock
A judge has discontinued a class action by Victorian councils against insurer JLT Risk Solutions, but has departed from the decisions of two other judges by ruling the suspension of the time limit for bringing the councils' claims will immediately be lifted. 
The things that raised judges’ ire in 2023
Judges were not afraid to vent their spleen in 2023, but lawyers were not the only object of judicial scorn last year, as judges waded into public discourse and sounded off over issues including complex legislation, media reports, famous social media commentators, and the involvement of government departments in legal proceedings. 
Court slashes law firm’s costs in Aveo class action settlement
A judge has cut law firm Levitt Robinson’s costs in a class action against retirement village provider Aveo, finding the solicitors were “seriously derelict” in serving their evidence on loss and ran up over $1 million in avoidable costs.
Rival law firms will cooperate on Qantas class action after judge says both ‘at fault’
Two law firms running competing class actions against Qantas over flight cancellations during the COVID-19 pandemic have agreed to cooperate after a judge took them to task for revising their funding positions in the lead up to a courtroom battle.
Firm’s ‘ridiculously low’ fee budget in Westpac class action drives down funder’s cut
A judge's decision to chop $810,000 from the funder's cut of a settled class action against Westpac sounds a warning to class action litigators that when it comes to determining the size of a commission, case budgets matter.
Philips class action pleading not the ‘finest piece of work’: judge
A judge has told the law firm that has taken over a class action against Philips Electronics over recalled sleep apnea machines to take its time when amending the pleading, which he said was not the "finest piece of work" he'd ever seen.
Aveo’s $11M class action settlement OK’d, but ‘avoidable costs’ yet to be doled out
A judge has given the green light to a $11 million settlement in a class action against retirement village provider Aveo, but reserved his decision about whether a contested amount of over $1 million should go to group members or the law firm that brought the case.
Westpac class action settlement gets OK, but funder won’t recoup all ATE insurance
A $29.95 million settlement resolving a superannuation class action against two Westpac units has won court approval. The judge overseeing the case has also indicated he will OK the litigation funder's commission but only some of its after-the-event insurance premium.
Funder seeks 20% cut of settlement in WA stolen wages class action
The litigation funder that backed a class action brought on behalf of Indigenous workers seeking to recover unpaid wages wants a 20 per cent commission from the settlement. But it faces pushback from the government of Western Australia, which has agreed to pay group members up to $165 million.
Court OKs landmark settlement in negligence case by Nauru child refugee
A judge has approved the first settlement in dozens of negligence cases against the Minister for Home Affairs on behalf of refugees detained by the Australian government on the island of Nauru.