The judge overseeing a consumer class action against wealth manager Colonial First State Investments has given the green light to a $100 million settlement, but questioned a $23.1 million cut to funder Augusta under a “strange” funding agreement.
A class action over the Victorian government’s decision to retire Melbourne’s high rise public housing towers has agreed to drop claims against the state of Victoria and the minister for housing after a judge threw out the claims but allowed the class action to replead.
A judge has ordered Crown Resorts to share the costs of soft class closure with the plaintiff in a shareholder class action accusing it of lax anti-money laundering compliance, saying that soft class closure ahead of mediation was in the interests of both parties.
The NSW government is seeking to strike out class action claims for exemplary damages, arguing allegations that police conducted strip searches at music festivals as a matter of routine “lack specificity at every level”.
A judge has approved a $25 million settlement in a class action against a group of surgeons who worked for the Cosmetic Institute, including a $8.9 million payout for the lawyers that ran the seven-year-old case, saying the deduction from the settlement was reasonable given the “very significant discount” applied to the legal bill.
Approving a settlement between insurers and group members in an investor class action against lender Axsesstoday, a judge has aired his frustration with expansive confidentiality provisions and deeds that “misapprehend the nature of the court’s role” in dealing with group members’ claims.
McDonald’s has hit back at a class action over alleged unpaid work done by managers before and after shifts, saying it paid more than the minimum entitlements and is entitled to set off those payments against claims for compensation.
Mining giant Rio Tinto faces a potential class action over allegations of sex discrimination and sexual harassment at mine sites in Australia, following a report that made “disturbing” findings about the company’s workplace culture.
Hearing arguments Tuesday on whether lawyers should be permitted to earn contingency fees in Federal Court class actions, judges on a Full Court bench appeared to lean in favour of allowing so-called solicitors’ common fund orders, rejecting claims they are “unjust”.
Two units of insurer IAG have been hit with a class action for allegedly misleading hundreds of thousands of home owners insurance customers about loyalty discounts.