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Litigation funders will soon be brought under the current corporate licencing regime and subjected to greater regulatory scrutiny, an opening salvo by the Morrison Government in its latest probe into class actions in Australia.
Mining magnate Clive Palmer has attacked a class action by timeshare owners of the ill-fated Palmer Coolum Resort on two fronts, arguing that a special levy to fund the action breached the Corporations Act and seeking to strike out significant portions of the case.
Two leading independent supermarket groups are the latest retail giants to face possible class actions for alleged wage underpayments, in the wake of class actions lobbed against Woolworths and Coles.
The law firm facing scrutiny over its legal fees in a class action over the collapse of Banksia Securities will argue that if it is found liable for any misconduct in the running of the case at an upcoming trial, the litigation funder and the barristers it briefed share in the blame.
The Victorian bill that would allow class action lawyers to charge contingency fees remains on the agenda, despite being delayed by reduced parliamentary sittings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
German cladding manufacturer 3A Composites is pushing forward with a bid to close a class action over allegedly combustible cladding to registered group members, arguing that a recent appeals court decision does not bar class closure in this case.
Australian litigation funder Omni Bridgeway has thrown its support behind a legislative ban on common fund orders in class action proceedings as well as a law that would block class actions from being brought on a contingency fee basis.
A court has granted a request from Grosvenor Litigation Services, the funder that backed two class actions against Volkswagen over its emissions cheating scandal, to suppress the details of a co-funding agreement with Vannin Capital.
Supermarket giant Coles has been hit with a class action after revealing in February that it owes staff in its supermarket and liquor businesses at least $20 million in pay.
The Federal Court’s, albeit not total, approval of common fund orders, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the likely approval of contingency fees in Victoria mean that, more than ever, litigation funders and plaintiff law firms will be on the lookout for class actions, says Alex Haslam of Gilchrist Connell.