The end of the common fund order is a setback for class actions that will see a revival of the days of closed proceedings, costly bookbuilding, higher commission rates and the shelving of worthy but risky cases, experts say, and all eyes will now turn to state and federal governments to see how they respond to calls for legislative intervention.
Former Wallabies fullback Israel Folau has settled his lawsuit against Rugby Australia and NSW Rugby alleging his $5.7 million contract was unfairly terminated over homophobic social media posts.
AMP’s group executive says she was never told of bullying claims made against her by former general counsel Larissa Cook until the lawyer filed a $2.7 million lawsuit alleging “hostile, aggressive and intimidating behaviour” in response to complaints she made about AMP’s fees for no service conduct.
A Federal Court judge has vacated a hearing on liability in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s lawsuit against Sony alleging the entertainment company misled gamers who purchased faulty PlayStation games.
A US institutional investor can use hindsight evidence in its breach of contract case against a former ANZ Bank trustee over the winding up of failed defence tech firm Metal Storm.
Billionaire and former politician Clive Palmer knew he needed a licence to use Twisted Sister’s hit song ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ but went ahead and used the song anyway in his political campaign ads because he “didn’t like the price,” the Federal Court has heard.
More than a decade after the High Court ruled that third parties could finance legal proceedings in Australia, the court has issued another game changing decision that puts limits on what judges will do to help a litigation funder out. Here, Lawyerly gives you a quick guide to the key takeaways from Wednesday’s judgment.
Judges have no power to order all class action members to pay a proportion of a litigation funder’s commission out of their share of a settlement, the High Court has ruled in a landmark judgment that deals a huge defeat to litigation funders.
Fast food giant Domino’s has denied allegations that it violated consumer law with the representations it made to franchisees about the agreements its workers were covered under, saying it was only giving franchisees its opinion.
The close relationship between regulator action over corporate wrongdoing and private enforcement is an established and powerful means of recovering compensation for victims of corporate misconduct. Increased cooperation between regulators and litigants in class actions would remove a number of substantial barriers to private enforcement action, writes Slater and Gordon lawyer Caitlin Baker.
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