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.
BlueScope’s decision to hide its trade secrets has doomed its patent infringement lawsuit against South Korean rival Dongkuk Steel, with a judge dismissing the case and invalidating two of the steel giant’s patents.
The judge overseeing three class actions against the Commonwealth alleging contamination from the use of toxic firefighting foam at three naval bases has shot down the plaintiffs’ bid for a formal communication reminding two referees of their role in the proceedings.
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.
A former Norton Rose Fulbright partner has lost his bid to block King & Wood Mallesons and two barristers from representing the law firm in a long-running feud over his termination, with an appeals court calling his allegations against the legal team “unfounded and misconceived”.
Dam operators Seqwater and Sunwater have not ruled out appealing a judgment that found they, along with the state of Queensland, were negligent in the 2011 floods in the Southeast region of the state that left over 2,000 homes destroyed.
A planned class action by Shine Lawyers, pegged as “Australia’s largest class action,” over allegedly toxic firefighting foam at eight Commonwealth military bases won’t be filed this month and has turned to bookbuilding following a landmark High Court ruling striking down common fund orders at the outset of class actions.
The judge overseeing a conflicted remuneration class action against Suncorp has allowed the class to bring an unconscionable conduct claim, but put the kibosh on the plaintiff’s use of the phrase ‘inter alia,’ saying “only I get to use Latin”.
German cladding manufacturer 3A Composites has again threatened to call for the de-classing of a class action brought over allegedly combustible cladding, slamming the case against it as “simply shambolic” and the conduct of the applicant as “utterly irresponsible”.
A magistrate has dismissed a bid to expand the cross examination of a JPMorgan witness in the closely watched criminal cartel case over a $2.5 billion ANZ share placement, calling it a “back door” attempt to bypass a prior court ruling.