A law firm running a shareholder class action against building materials giant James Hardie Industries has argued for a 27.5 per cent group costs order, saying it was the “standard benchmark” for earnings guidance cases.
The state of Victoria has won its bid to prevent lawyers for a class action over Victoria’s COVID-19 hotel quarantine debacle from proofing lay witnesses, ahead of a criminal trial against the Department of Health, which is due to start in May.
When the Supreme Court of Victoria considers for the first time a settlement reached in a class action run on a contingency fee basis, it will grapple with some novel questions, including whether to trim the 27.5 per cent group costs order granted to Slater & Gordon at the outset of the case, legal experts say.
Epic Games’ case alleging Google ran its Play Store anti-competitively is “significantly more ambitious” than the Fortnite game maker’s claims against Apple, according to the search giant, which says its restraints are “more flexible and less draconian” than the iPhone maker’s.
Australia’s largest childcare centre operator G8 Education has agreed to pay $46.5 million to settle a shareholder class action alleging the company failed to keep investors in the loop about factors affecting its 2017 financial performance, and the firm that ran the case is set to make $13 million after securing the first group costs order in Victoria.
ANZ has agreed to pay $57.5 million in a settlement of a class action over retrospective interest charges on credit cards.
A five-year-old class action against BHP over the collapse of a Brazilian dam is seeking to amend the group definition following a judgment limiting the class size, but the mining company says it should not be punished for the applicant’s pleading mistake.
Westpac subsidiary BT Funds Management and Tal Life Insurance have foreshadowed applications to strike out the pleadings of a class action alleging superannuation customers were overcharged for insurance coverage.
The lead plaintiff and several group members in a class action against the Australian Football League on behalf of players who allegedly suffered brain injuries have “very strong” opposition to adding individual clubs, a court has heard.
Investors in an apartment development in Melbourne have brought a class action against the responsible managers for two managed investment schemes, alleging their funds were misused.