A judge has approved a $9.5 million settlement in a class action against McMillan Shakespeare as fair and reasonable, allowing a common fund order and a nearly 30 percent commission for the litigation funder despite previously raising “real concerns” about the small portion flowing to group members.
Whether a contingency fee order made in a Victoria Supreme Court class action can survive a transfer application to a NSW court could be the next high stakes class action issue for the courts.
RMIT has bit back at a $2.9 million lawsuit by an indigenous law professor who claims the university fired him for complaining about “racially and sexually discriminatory remarks” allegedly made by one of the university’s senior officials, saying he plunged $21,000 of RMIT’s funds into research for a potential private global sake and baby formula venture.
Norwegian shipping company Wallenius Wilhlmsen Ocean has been fined $24 million for conspiring to fix the rates charged for shipping vehicles to Australia, bringing the total fines won by the ACCC over the shipping cartel to $83.5 million.
In Wigmans v AMP the High Court will shortly deliver judgment on the vexed issue of class actions that compete to represent substantially the same class or group. Dr Michael Duffy of Monash University previews the decision.
A Victorian barrister has reached a settlement on the eve of trial in a breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit brought by a former client who lost a court case over a $24.5 million real estate dispute.
Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram are pushing for a competition dispute brought by an Australian social media startup to be heard on their home turf in the state of California.
Bondholders of Axsesstoday are seeking to expand their claims in a class action against the collapsed asset finance lender and its accountant PricewaterhouseCoopers, alleging PwC kept investors in the dark about a spike in the company’s arrears ratio prior to issuing a $50 million bond prospectus.
Venture capitalist Dr Elaine Stead is seeking indemnity costs after being awarded $280,000 in her defamation case against Nine-owned Fairfax, which she accuses of rejecting several settlement offers with “bugger off letters” and engaging in a “petulant campaign” of media coverage post-judgment.
The wealthy founder of auto repair franchisor Ultra Tune has secured a temporary injunction against his ex-girlfriend and a former employee prohibiting them from distributing secret recordings after excerpts from one damaging audio file were published by Fairfax.