The entrepreneur who funded one of two settled Murray Goulburn class actions will defend his $10.5 million cut of the $37.5 million settlement, a commission that is under scrutiny by a contradictor appointed by the judge overseeing the case.
A year after Commissioner Kenneth Hayne released his scathing report, companies in the financial services sector are still facing fresh class actions over conduct aired at the banking royal commission, and the pace has even picked up in recent months.
Two National Australia Bank units have been hit with a class action alleging they violated their duties as superannuation trustees by allegedly failing to transfer members to funds with lower fees.
Bupa has launched court action to block a directive by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission as the aged care provider battles a separate case by the ACCC over payments allegedly charged to residents for services they did not receive.
The lead applicant in a class action against 7-Eleven has appealed a ruling that denied its bid to block the convenience store chain from seeking litigation releases from franchisees upon renewal of their contracts.
Jet builder Bombardier has lost its appeal of a ruling by the Western Australia Supreme Court that it has jurisdiction to hear a multimillion dollar case brought by the company of WA billionaire Tim Roberts over the sale of aircraft to wealthy Australians.
National Australia Bank will be hit this year with an estimated $750 million in fines stemming from its fees for no service conduct and potential breaches of money laundering laws, analysts have predicted.
Companies and other defendants forked over big sums last year to settle more than 20 class actions, with a total of at least $734 million being paid out. Here are the top 10 class action settlements and the law firms and funders that negotiated them.
Litigation funder IMF Bentham has thrown in the towel in a battle over its cut of a $42 million settlement in a class action against dairy cooperative Murray Goulburn, accepting the Federal Court’s proposed 25 per cent commission rate after initially seeking 32 per cent.
Common fund orders in federal class actions could live to see another day, the Federal Court has indicated in new guidance to be released Friday, which swiftly responds to a recent judgment by the High Court that appeared to spell their doom.