The Federal Court has slashed $2.5 million off the fees that class action law firm Levitt Robinson clocked up in its long-running case against Aveo Group, and slammed some of its conduct as “seriously derelict” and “beggaring belief”.

Justice Bernard Murphy’s broadside at the firm comes amid heightened scrutiny by judges and politicians of potentially spurious class actions, as litigation funders and competing plaintiff law firms expand the scope of potential cases.