The High Court decision in Paciocco v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, provides welcome clarity on the application of the 'penalties rule' implicating a broad range of sectors. ...

In a recent Federal Court decision Justice Murphy refused to approve the settlement agreement between the parties to the Willmott class action finding that the terms of the settlement were not fair and reasonable ...

Class action risk has become a major issue for boards senior management and general counsel A key question often asked in that context is whether the changing nature of the class actions landscape poses an increasing area of risk for Australian corporates ...

The recent settlement of the Great Southern class action raises a number of interesting and important issues not only because the court took the unusual step of publishing its reasons for judgment after the settlement had been announced ...

The Federal Court has dismissed shareholders claims against Babcock Brown alleging failure to disclose market sensitive information The court made important findings on the scope of listed entities continuous disclosure obligations in the context of accounting irregularities and potential insolvency ...

The recent Great Southern class action settlement included a term by which group members acknowledged and admitted that loans taken out with independent financiers to finance investments in Great Southern managed investment schemes were valid and enforceable Two separate Victorian Supreme Court ...

Following a decision earlier this year preventing a solicitor from acting in a class action in which the solicitor managed and controlled the representative plaintiff the Victorian Supreme Court has held that a solicitor and senior counsel should be prevented from acting in a class action in which ...

A representative proceeding can only be commenced where seven or more group members have claims against the same person In proceedings with multiple respondents there has been conflicting authority as to whether each group member is required to have a claim against each respondent Last week in Cash ...

In recent months the funding of class actions has been prominent in the legal press The issues canvassed have included the regulation of third party funders the case for and against lawyers charging contingency fees attempts by lawyers to establish third party funding vehicles the Productivity ...

A recent VSC decision has examined the limits on entrepreneurship by securities class action lawyers ...