Westpac has criticised Shine Lawyers for allegedly turning a registration and opt out notice to class action members into a ‘sales pitch’ designed to book-build for the firm, saying the High Court’s recent common fund ruling forbade approval of anything designed to boost the commercial viability of a case.
The funder behind a class action against Westpac over allegedly excessive insurance premiums has confirmed that it will continue backing the case despite earlier concerns it may pull out in the wake of the High Court’s landmark ruling on common fund orders.
AMP will face a class action alleging its financial representatives pushed AMP inflated insurance policies onto 100,000 customers despite knowing that better policies could be found through other providers.
With Victoria set to pass legislation permitting law firms to charge contingency fees, experts have raised fears of an exodus of class actions from other states and the federal system. But the Federal Court, which hears about two-thirds of Australia’s representative proceedings, is not likely to surrender easily.
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.
Commonwealth Bank’s wealth management unit Colonial First State Investments faces a new class action on behalf of hundreds of thousands of customers who were allegedly charged excesssive premiums on insurance policies.
Litigation funder IMF Bentham has shrugged off concerns about the High Court’s recent ruling on common fund orders, telling investors that it’s in a position to take over some class actions from funders daunted by the prospect of bookbuilding.
Lawyerly’s Litigation Firms of 2019 racked up multiple wins last year in high-stakes litigation against formidable opponents, including the country’s top regulators.
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.
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.