A decision this week rejecting a proposed common fund order at the settlement approval stage of a class action against teleco Vocus has dashed the hopes of litigation funders that a recent High Court ruling would not foreclose on judges using discretion at the end of a case and will cement a return to bookbuilding and a focus on shareholder class actions by institutional investors.
Betting giant Tabcorp may be hit with a class action after the company accidentally offered punters larger than usual cash out amounts for certain bets and then sought to reclaim the cash.
The Federal Government has released draft legislation laying down protections for those using the COVIDSafe app which include criminal offences for the misuse of data and options for individuals to lodge complaints with the privacy commissioner.
A prominent silk deliberately misled a cost consultant retained to provide an opinion on the barrister’s fees to a court overseeing a class action over the collapse of Banksia Securities, then joked about it with lawyer and litigation funder Mark Elliott, a judge has been told.
Chinese-based witnesses for Hytera may be able to travel to Hong Kong for cross-examination in a now rescheduled copyright trial between Motorola and Hytera, after Chinese law and the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis forced the court to vacate the hearing, initially due to start this week.
A court has substantially dismissed an application for further discovery by three companies facing a lawsuit by chemical and energy giant Hanwha Solutions for patent infringement of its solar cell technology.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission maintains its $75 million settlement agreement with Volkswagen over the emissions cheating scandal was “appropriate”, as VW progresses its appeal of the $125 million penalty imposed by a judge who called the ACCC agreement “manifestly inadequate”.
A Victorian Liberal MP seeking damages for allegedly defamatory Facebook statements has been given the green light to proceed with a judge-only trial, after jury trials were suspended in Victoria amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A judge has declined to make a common fund order in approving a $35 million settlement in a shareholder class action against telecommunications firm Vocus Group, resulting in a reduced payout for the funders that backed the case.
GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis have agreed to a combined penalty of $4.5 million after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission accused the pharmaceutical giants of making misleading claims in marketing their Voltaren Osteo Gel and Voltaren Emulgel pain relief products.