In reasons for approving a $41 million deal to settle one of three shareholder class actions over Slater & Gordon’s acquisition of a UK firm and awarding the funder 28 per cent, a judge has challenged a persistent notion that the interests of litigation funders and group members are at odds.
A costs report in a settled class action against Woolworths that recommended almost $800,000 in legal fee deductions failed to wrestle with a key factor in weighing the proportionality of the costs, a judge has said.
Automotive electronics company Directed Electronics has largely prevailed in a five-year-old lawsuit alleging a former manager misappropriated company information and reaped $3.6 million in commissions through a secret side agreement with South Korean giant Hanhwa.
The High Court will not wade into the global debate over whether artificial intelligence inventions should receive patent protection, letting stand a Full Court judgment that overturned a landmark victory for AI pioneer Dr Stephen Thaler.
A judge has approved a $41 million settlement in a shareholder class action against Pitcher Partners but has reduced the funder’s cut to $11.5 million after resolving a feud with the lead applicant over how much it should receive for taking the case to trial.
The law firm that secured a $44.5 million settlement in a class action against Woolworths has won its full $14.5 million in costs, with a judge tossing the report of the referee he appointed to examine the fees, which he said appeared double what they should be.
A judge has suggested that financial services giant AMP bring an application for summary dismissal of part of a class action over allegedly excessive insurance premiums, questioning the basis for the claims.
Following a three-week trial, Pitcher Partners has agreed to pay $41 million to settle a shareholder class action alleging the firm, along with Ernst & Young, approved an overly rosy year-end financial report related to Slater & Gordon’s disastrous $1.2 billion acquisition of UK business Quindell.
A court has directed a senior barrister acting in a $650 million lawsuit against Mercedes-Benz to “tear up” a letter his instructing solicitors sent concerning the judge’s ownership of a Mercedes vehicle, and said he was “surprised” the counsel signed off on it.
A judge has signed off on a $44.5 million settlement of a shareholder class action against Woolworths, which includes a $4.73 million funding commission, but the amount of fees to be paid to the law firm running the case remains to be decided.