Class Actions

Engineering services firm Worley has taken last month's landmark loss in a shareholder class action to the High Court, challenging the Full Federal Court's embrace of market-based causation and its adoption of the facilitation principle.

A shareholder class action has won access to reports by FTI Consulting and KPMG that were commissioned by water remediation company Phoslock, with a judge finding they were not created for the dominant purpose of providing legal advice.

Google has hit back at a class action alleging it abused its dominance in the digital advertising market, saying that publishers are able to, and often do, develop their own ad tech tools or rely on competing third-party solutions.

A judge has approved a $550 million settlement in a class action over the Morrison government’s Robodebt scheme but has halved a funder’s payout to $35 million, despite arguments that it was unprecedented to award a single digit percentage commission. 

A judge has shot down a bid to add a negligence claim to a class action on behalf of Queensland motorists over allegedly excessive toll charges, finding allegations the government owed a duty of care were likely to be struck out.

The funder that backed a class action over the Morrison government’s Robodebt scheme, which settled for a record $548.5 million, is seeking a $71 million commission, but a contradictor has told the court a $23 million cut will suffice.

Logistics company Brambles has lost its bid to pause costs orders while it prepares an appeal of the first post-trial win for a shareholder class action, while also flagging a bid to stay determination of group member claims.

A judge has shot down a bid to add a negligence claim to a class action on behalf of Queensland motorists over allegedly excessive toll charges, finding allegations the government owed a duty of care were likely to be struck out.

A shareholder class action against water treatment firm Phoslock wants the company to hand over reports by KPMG and FTI Consulting, arguing the material is not protected by legal professional privilege because it wasn't produced for the dominant purpose of providing legal advice.

The lead shareholder in class actions against CBA has urged the High Court to take a "common sense" approach to loss causation in securities cases, as endorsed by the Full Federal Court in last month's ruling for Worley's investors.