This Month
- Exclusive
- Legal industry
Litigation funder touts 165pc returns in bid to sign up more clients
Pitched as an “ESG asset”, Sydney-based funder CASL aims to raise a further $150 million on top of the $156 million in its first fund.
- Ronald Mizen
June
BHP accuses class action law firm of ‘losing’ 100,000 claimants
BHP lost its claim to have 33,000 claimants struck out of the class action it is defending over the 2015 Mariana dam disaster, but the overall figure still slipped from 700,000 to 600,000.
- Ronald Mizen and Kylar Loussikian
- Exclusive
- Legal industry
Meet the lawyer bringing a $1b class action war chest to Australia
Pogust Goodhead plans to launch three class actions by year’s end and a further seven in the next 18 months.
- Ronald Mizen
May
IAG hit with discounting class action in latest legal headache
The insurance giant says it will defend the Slater and Gordon lawsuit alleging that customers were duped about discounts.
- Liam Walsh
No more ‘go-away’ money as companies take class actions to court
Corporate Australia will no longer pay “go-away” money to avoid shareholder class actions after plaintiff firms lost five major cases in a row, a trend lawyers said would encourage more boards to fight cases in the courts.
- Michael Pelly
- Exclusive
- Legal industry
Hedge fund betting on class actions banks on $135m profit a year
The fund behind largest litigation deal in history expects to make about $135 million a year from the deal, illustrating the huge profits up for grabs for investors.
- Ronald Mizen
Directors welcome ‘no change’ report on disclosure laws
A review of continuous disclosure laws says the end of the no-fault regime for class actions has had no impact on “meritorious” claims
- Michael Pelly
Optus denies ‘cloaking’ Deloitte report on 2022 cyberattack
A press release published after Optus’s 2022 cyberattack had legal purposes, even though they were never mentioned, Optus has argued in a court appeal.
- Jenny Wiggins
Judge chides critics who want to ‘regulate class actions out of existence’
The newest member of the High Court, Justice Robert Beech-Jones, also gave qualified support to competition between courts.
- Michael Pelly
CBA victory shows tide is turning on shareholder claims
The decision is more proof that shareholder claims are no longer a lay-down misere, lawyers say.
- Michael Pelly and Lucas Baird
April
BHP, Vale offer $38b to settle Samarco dam disaster claims
The two mining giants have made a fresh proposal to try and finalise their protracted compensation talks with the Brazilian authorities over the 2015 disaster.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Exclusive
- Legal industry
Business slams class action lawfare firms
Business groups warn shareholders could be hit with billions of dollars in lawsuits backed by deep pocketed hedge fund investors under the Albanese government’s free-for-all class action setting.
- Ronald Mizen
Super fund sued over customers’ unpaid penalties in ‘unique’ case
The claim that ESSSuper left customers more than $40 million out of pocket could prove a test case on how rigorously the $3.6 trillion industry is held accountable for meeting its trustee duties.
- Hannah Wootton
March
Childcare giant G8’s $46m ‘no admission’ settlement
Even with insurance, shareholders will still take a hefty hit after the board decided to settle for “commercial” reasons.
- Updated
- Liam Walsh
NAB, Virgin Money prevail in British lawsuit
National Australia Bank and its former UK unit, Virgin-owned Clydesdale, have fended off what could have become a potentially costly class action.
- Hans van Leeuwen
- Updated
- Accounting
Court actions against Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC
The big four consulting firms face a range of court actions over their auditing and advisory work. The list was last updated on March 18, 2024.
- Updated
- Edmund Tadros and Hannah Wootton
ASX extends rout; Markets’ big test; Uber pays taxi drivers $272m
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
Uber pays Aussie taxi drivers $272m in class action settlement
Lawyers behind one of the top five class actions in Australian legal history say the US giant will pay compensation for initially operating illegally.
- Paul Smith
KPMG knew AusNet contract was a ‘risk,’ Downer claims
The firm had flagged the agreement with the utilities group and should have discovered revenue was overstated, the contractor had alleged.
- Jenny Wiggins
Downer EDI sues KPMG for failing to detect accounting irregularities
The contractor has sought to blame its auditor for the scandal, which wiped some $500 million from its valuation, forcing the firm to quit as auditor.
- Jenny Wiggins