Class Actions

The High Court has been asked to overturn a NSW Court of Appeal decision finding it had no power to exclude unregistered group members from a settlement, which conflicted with Federal Court precedent, hearing the divergence of the important issue “can only be resolved by the High Court”.

A judge has expressed concerns about the plaintiff’s proposed group costs order rate in a shareholder class action against fleet management company FleetPartners, saying the purpose of the GCO regime was to lower costs to group members.

A class action against ANZ and former subsidiary OnePath has been given the green light to “significantly expand” its case against the big four bank, over three years after the case was first filed.

Optus has denied that it ‘cloaked’ the true dominant purpose of a Deloitte report into a major data breach in 2022, arguing on appeal that the report was privileged and that a class action should not have access to it. 

A law firm investigating a group proceeding against non-bank lender Latitude over a data breach last year has called on the information commissioner to give an update on a related class action-style complaint.

The funder behind two class actions against Uber, which have settled for $272 million, stands to make a tidy sum if the settlement holds up at a court approval hearing.

The plaintiffs in a class action against a group of surgeons who worked for The Cosmetic Institute have told a court that a costs assessment is not necessary to approve a $25 million settlement, which will see $10 million deducted for legal and administrative costs, in light of reductions to the fees. 

A Perth-based forex trader that allegedly failed to return investors’ funds or any profits made on trading has taken no steps in the undefended class action, a court has heard.

The score in shareholder class actions taken to trial now stands at a dismal 0-5 after a judge tossed class actions against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia on Friday. But don’t expect funders to throw in the towel until the High Court or an intermediate appellate authority has its say, experts told Lawyerly.

Two class actions have failed to convince a judge that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s money laundering compliance failure which led to a $700 million penalty was “law breaking on a grand scale” that should have been disclosed to the market, the latest shareholder case to flop after being taken to trial.