In a class action long delayed by a battle over foreign shareholders, BHP Group has finally filed a defence, denying it misled shareholders over a failed Brazilian dam and saying knowledge about the risk of collapse cannot be imputed to the Melbourne-headquartered energy giant.
App developers can be added as group members in class actions against Apple and Google alleging they engaged in anti-competitive conduct in operating their app stores, despite Apple’s concerns that the law firm running the case will owe conflicting duties.
Lawyerly’s Litigation Law Firms of 2022 racked up precedent-setting victories in a year that continued to see major developments in class action law.
Sixteen law firms and accounting firms have thrown their hat in the ring to administer a $300 million settlement in two class actions against Johnson & Johnson over pelvic mesh devices that injured thousands of women.
A four-way fight to lead a shareholder class action against Star Entertainment could be on the cards after a fourth law firm filed a representative proceeding alleging the company’s share price plummeted following revelations of alleged money-laundering breaches.
Star Entertainment is facing a third shareholder class action alleging it failed to disclose material information about its compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations, after being slapped with $200 million in fines by state gambling regulators.
A judge has approved a $1 million settlement in a shareholder class action against failed tech start-up GetSwift that leaves the law firm running the matter taking a “massive haircut” and the funder $5.5 million out of pocket.
Regenerative medicine company Mesoblast has hit back at a shareholder class action over its Remestemcel-L treatment for COVID-19, saying that some group members are barred from bringing claims because of a settlement reached in a US class action.
A $1.5 million class action settlement against failed logistics provider GetSwift, which a judge termed a “disaster”, has been revised down to $1 million and may face a liquidators’ challenge that could see a group members recover nothing.
The Northern Territory public housing authority has been hit with a class action alleging it failed to maintain public housing to a habitable standard in remote Aboriginal communities.