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Class action settlements hit major milestones last year, with the year’s largest settlements totalling $1.6 billion and one case resolving for a historic $548.5 million.
Class action settlements leaped in value last year, with three settlements topping the $200 million mark.
Companies and government entities paid out less to settle class actions in 2023 than in the previous two years, with no mega settlements hitting their pocketbooks.
For Meridian Lawyers managing director Paul Baker, the challenging decisions for executives post-COVID are almost as great now as they were in the difficult early days of the pandemic, including getting it right on remote work.
Lawyerly's Litigation Law Firms of 2022 racked up precedent-setting victories in a year that continued to see major developments in class action law.
Class action settlement sums reached new highs last year, with the ten largest agreements totalling almost $1 billion, almost half of which was secured by one plaintiff law firm.
Gaming company Konami Australia has been ordered to pay rival Aristocrat Technologies a proportion of profits from the sale of patent-infringing poker machines over a 12-year period, as well as a chunk of damages for supply of the games that generated no revenue at all.
Even after 30 years in action, the future of class actions in Australia remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is the impact class actions have had – for claimants, lawyers, litigation funders and for corporate Australia, writes Corrs Chambers Westgarth's Chris Pagent, Brad Woodhouse, Alex Ji and Thomas Scott.
The access to justice and efficiency objectives of the 30-year class action regime would be better served by more active scrutiny at the point of commencement, say Allens partners Belinda Thompson and Jenny Campbell.
As we reach the 30-year anniversary of the modern form of class action in Australia, an enduring characteristic of class action practice in this country is that the area is not well-suited to those who enjoy certainty or predictability, say Jason Betts, Aoife Xuereb and Melissa Gladstone-Joyce of Herbert Smith Freehills.