A late proposal by the Australian Law Reform Commission to introduce a ‘leave to proceed’ mechanism into class actions has been blasted by a major litigation funder and a plaintiffs-side law firm as a de facto class certification procedure that would ramp up costs and add years of delay to cases.
Squire Patton Boggs has refused a request by rival Phi Finney McDonald for the details of group members it signed up to its now stayed shareholder class action against GetSwift, a court has learned, in the latest show of resistance by the losing law firm.
Vocational education provider Captain Cook College has panned the ACCC for delaying its recently filed case against the college by failing to prepare a statement of claim, despite already publicising the proceedings.
Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser is seeking more information after advertisements for rival AFT Pharmaceuticals’ Maxigesic painkiller were found in-store and online despite the court ordering the removal of the misleading displays earlier this month.
Litigation funder Investor Claim Partner won’t promise it will maintain a lower commission rate in one of the Dick Smith class actions if mediation is delayed to next year.
Bannister Law has stepped down from leading a shareholder class action, the second major class action the firm has recently handed over to a rival firm without explanation.
A Dick Smith shareholder has lost his bid to bring a separate proceeding against the failed home goods retailer while two class actions are afoot.
The Full Federal Court has dismissed a challenge to a ruling that chose one of three shareholder class actions to proceed against GetSwift, saying the court had the power to permanently stay competing cases. But an injunction blocking the losing law firms from communicating with clients was going too far, it said.
A groundbreaking judgment by the Full Federal Court over competing class actions will be handed down Tuesday morning and is expected to give judges much needed guidance on how to move forward when confronted, as they increasingly are, with multiple proceedings over the same alleged misconduct.
Broadcaster Alan Jones declined an offer to settle a lawsuit alleging he defamed a prominent Queensland family by blaming them for the deaths of 12 people in the 2011 Grantham floods because he would not agreed to the terms of a proposed apology.