The Murray Goulburn class action has been cited repeatedly in the current parliamentary inquiry into class actions and litigation funding. For some, the return generated by Omni Bridgeway, which funded the action, is Exhibit A in the case that litigation funders make too much money. To others – including the one person in the best position to judge – it is nothing of the sort, says Clive Bowman of Omni Bridgeway.
The funder and legal team behind a class action over the collapse of Banksia Securities billed for phantom costs in a “fraudulent scheme” to secure almost $20 million from the case, the contradictor investigating the purported misconduct has told a court.
A court has granted ASIC’s bid to wind up an illegal managed investment scheme whose operators fled to India following the “systematic misappropriation” of almost $7 million in investor funds.
Telstra has filed a lawsuit accusing Singtel Optus of breaching the Australia Consumer Law through ads that claim it is “covering more of Australia than ever before”.
A lawsuit by iSignthis seeking over $27 million in damages from the ASX has been sent back for revision, after a judge found the fintech had failed to causally link how a report by the exchange led to lost contracts with five clients.
Supermarket chain Romeo’s has become the latest retailer to face a class action alleging it failed to pay staff for all hours worked.
Westpac anti-money laundering compliance troubles continue to worsen, with the bank reporting an additional 365,000 incomplete or inaccurate threshold transaction reports to AUSTRAC.
A lawyer who argued his conduct towards a paralegal was not sexual harassment but a display of ardent affection akin to ‘Mr Darcy’ in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ has lost his appeal of a $170,000 judgment against him, with the Full Federal Court saying the case was “as far from a Jane Austen novel as it is possible to be”.
Facing accusations of being a “litigation bounty hunter”, litigation funder Augusta Ventures has made its bid before the Full Federal Court to overturn a landmark ruling which put it on the hook for $3.1 million in security in two Fair Work class actions.
There is an “embarrassing” foreign influence on Australian laws, a plaintiff law firm has told a parliamentary inquiry into class actions, after revealing that Treasurer Josh Frydenberg met with an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce in May, shortly before announcing a crackdown on litigation funders.
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