Two former Dick Smith directors targeted by dual class actions have expanded their case against Deloitte over the retailer’s 2016 collapse, saying if the company was found liable for shareholder losses then the auditor should be blamed for its shoddy work on the company’s financial statements during its float three years earlier.
One of two shareholder class actions against infant food maker Bellamy’s for allegedly misleading investors about its China growth strategy and declining infant formula market share in Australia wants to expand the class definition to include purchasers of equity swaps.
The litigation funder bankrolling a new class action against Toyota over allegedly faulty filters in its diesel models is looking to earn a step-up commission of between 20 and 30 percent of any recovery in the case.
The plaintiffs in a farming class action brought against Advanta Seeds over allegedly contaminated sorghum have been denied access to the defendant’s insurance policy documents, after a judge found “significant differences” with a recently successful application in a class action against Radio Rentals.
QBE Underwriting has defended its decision to deny insurance coverage to the builder of Sydney’s troubled Opal Tower development, claiming the cracking was not “major” and did not cause last year’s Christmas Eve evacuation.
The judge who presided over a rare securities class action trial last year against department store Myer will deliver judgment in the case this month that could be the first ruling on causation in Australian shareholder class actions and has the potential to have a chilling effect on law firms bringing the cases.
National law firm Holding Redlich is investigating a shareholder class action against Smiles Inclusive, just one week after the embattled Gold Coast dental company reported a $31 million statutory loss.
The judge overseeing the long-running class action over allegedly faulty Ford PowerShift transmissions has told the applicants they might need to put up considerable cash security to cover the “war and peace of discovery” disputes, after Ford slammed the delayed request for documents as “complete and utter nonsense”.
The judge overseeing a class action against mineral sands producer Iluka Resources has slammed the submissions from both sides over a bid for an extra $2.6 million in security for costs, calling them “completely out of control” and “totally out of proportion”.
A landmark ruling has found judges have the power to order security against litigation funders backing Fair Work class actions, in a decision that could change the landscape of representative proceedings.