Not bowed by its defeat against Westpac in a case over alleged responsible lending breaches, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has brought action against Volkswagen alleging similar violations of the credit laws in relation to almost 50,000 car loans over three years.
Litigation funder IMF Bentham has thrown in the towel in a battle over its cut of a $42 million settlement in a class action against dairy cooperative Murray Goulburn, accepting the Federal Court’s proposed 25 per cent commission rate after initially seeking 32 per cent.
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Engineering services company CIMIC has agreed to settle a long-running shareholder class action launched in the wake of media reports of an alleged $42 million bribe paid by the firm to win a lucrative oil contract.
A Federal Court judge has slapped Volkswagen with a record $125 million penalty over its emissions cheating scandal after expressing outrage at a “manifestly inadequate” $75 million settlement agreement reached with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Common fund orders in federal class actions could live to see another day, the Federal Court has indicated in new guidance to be released Friday, which swiftly responds to a recent judgment by the High Court that appeared to spell their doom.
A judge has vacated an upcoming trial date in a criminal cartel proceeding against mobile equipment provider Country Care Group and two individuals, and allowed the defendants to appeal a first-of-its-kind ruling on jury directions in criminal cartel cases.
Calling it the largest human rights case in Australia’s history, a judge has signed off on a $190 million settlement in a class action against the State of Queensland and approved the funder’s 20 per cent cut of the proceeds.
Appco has agreed to hand over insurance policy documents to the lead applicant in a $90 million sham contracting class action, amid concerns about the dire financial state of the fundraising company as the matter moves towards mediation.
A class action against Westpac over allegedly excessive insurance premiums that was at the centre of a successful High Court challenge to common fund orders may back out of funding the case in the wake of the landmark ruling.
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