Group members in two settled class actions against clothing retailer Surfstitch have been told the settlement amount available to them has plummeted amid a “very difficult retail environment”.
National Australia Bank and HSBC, which are suing the liquidators of collapsed retailer Dick Smith to recoup over $125 million in loans, have successfully fought off a bid by two former company directors for a series of financial reports.
Six law firms are working on a consolidated trial of multiple class actions over the collapse of retailer Dick Smith, but when the trial opened in the NSW Supreme Court this week, a lone barrister appeared in court before Justice Michael Ball, amid a sea of empty bar tables. Most of the hearing’s participants joined through a virtual courtroom while members of the public were invited to watch the trial unfold on a YouTube live stream. Welcome to litigating in the age of the coronavirus.
Unfunded group members in two shareholder class actions against online fashion retailer Surfstitch have been told they are likely better off to opt out of a settlement if a judge approves $6 million in fees and a 30 per cent commission sought by the law firms and funder that brought the cases.
The lead plaintiffs in two shareholder class actions against Dick Smith can amend their case against accounting firm Deloitte, less than two months before a mammoth hearing is set to commence.
A Sydney solicitor who was found liable for investor losses in a sports betting scheme masterminded by convicted conman Peter Foster may seek to shift the blame onto Westpac for the bank’s alleged failure to flag funds shifted offshore from the scheme.
Investors who sank $12.3 million into a fraudulent sports betting scheme run by convicted conman Peter Foster lost money because a Sydney lawyer failed to come forward with the truth, a judge has found.
The funders behind two shareholder class actions against online fashion retailer Surfstitch Group will seek a commission of up to 30 per cent while the law firms that brought the cases will ask for approval of up to $6 million in legal fees during an upcoming settlement approval hearing, which also puts the fate of a deed of company arrangement that saved the company from liquidation on the line.
Accounting giant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu will not face cross claims over the collapse of failed retailer Dick Smith when a hearing of three shareholder class actions kicks off in three months.
A judge has ordered the legal teams behind two settled Surfstitch class actions to have another crack at the opt out notice, saying the current version is “just too confusing” for group members.