CLASS ACTIONS (CIVIL PROCEDURE) – AUSTRALIA

Chairman Dawkins vacates Vocation

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Original article by Kylar Loussikian
The Australian – Page: 21 : 28-Nov-14

Ex-Minter Ellison partner Mark Elliott, notorious for launching class action law suits against companies in which he has marginal shareholdings, has joined law firms Maurice Blackburn and Slater & Gordon in bringing such a case against Vocation. The Supreme Court of Victoria will hear allegations of misleading or deceptive conduct, after the Victorian Department of Education & Early Childhood Development cancelled funding worth $A20m for Vocation off-shoots BAWM and Aspin. Meanwhile John Dawkins has stepped down as chair of the private education services provider

CORPORATES
VOCATION LIMITED – ASX VET, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT, BAWM GROUP PTY LTD, ASPIN PTY LTD, DUET GROUP – ASX DUE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, BSL LITIGATION PARTNERS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SKILLS QUALITY AUTHORITY, BANKSIA SECURITIES LIMITED, LEIGHTON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LEI, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW

Concern over funding of class actions

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Original article by Marianna Papadakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 28-Aug-14

The Australian Institute of Company Directors’ GM, Steve Burrell, has urged stricter regulation of litigation funders. He notes that growing competition in the sector has prompted a rise in class actions in the last 18 months. Litigation funders are typically paid 20-35 per cent of the total payout in successful class actions, but Burrell is concerned about a proposal to allow litigation funders to use the common fund system in Australia

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION FUNDING PARTNERS INCORPORATED, ALLCO FINANCE GROUP LIMITED, BENTHAM IMF LIMITED – ASX IMF, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CITIBANK PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS CONSUMER ACTION NETWORK LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX SGT, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT AUSTRALIA

Ruling may incite more class actions

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Original article by Marianna Papadakis,Hannah Low
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 21-Aug-14

Canada-based ­International Litigation Funding ­Partners (ILFP) is bankrolling a stockholder class action suit against Allco Finance Group. The Federal Court of Australia will on 21 August 2014 rule on whether ILFP can claim between 22.5% and 35% of any payout under the "common fund" method that covers all plaintiffs, even those who have not specifically agreed to be part of the funding arrangement. The decision will have an impact on other current class actions, involving major banks and telcos

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION FUNDING PARTNERS INCORPORATED,ALLCO FINANCE GROUP LIMITED,FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA,BENTHAM IMF LIMITED – ASX IMF,KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD,MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD,CLAIMS FUNDING AUSTRALIA PTY LTD,CLAIMS FUNDING EUROPE,NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB,SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA,MODTECH ENGINEERING PTY LTD,GPT MANAGEMENT LIMITED,UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES,KING AND WOOD MALLESONS,AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ,CITIBANK PTY LTD,WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC,AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS CONSUMER ACTION NETWORK LIMITED,TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS,SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD,SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX SGT,VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD,HARBOUR LITIGATION FUNDING LIMITED

Banks hit by class action on credit card fees

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Original article by Ben Butler, Adele Ferguson
The Age – Page: 1 : 12-Aug-14

The ANZ Bank, Citibank and Westpac have been taken to court over credit card late fees in a class action by Maurice Blackburn. The law suit is an "open class action", with every customer who paid excessive late fees to be automatically included. Maurice Blackburn is believed to be preparing other suits against National Australia Bank, American Express and Commonwealth Bank of Australia

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CITIBANK PTY LTD, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BANK OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Newcrest ‘slow to lower its forecasts’

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 23-Jul-14

The Federal Court of Australia is hearing a class action suit against Newcrest Mining, brought by law firm Slater & Gordon on behalf of investors who bought shares in the gold producer between 13 August 2012 and 6 June 2013. It is being claimed that the company was aware close to 12 months before it disclosed this officially to the stock market that its output estimates were flawed. Newcrest has now noted that the case’s scope is wider than its selective briefing of analysts, which recently prompted a settlement worth $A1.2bn with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM|SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH|AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION|FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA|LIHIR GOLD LIMITED

Top judge: courts must prepare for class actions

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Original article by Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 11-Jul-14

There has been an increase in the number of class action suits launched in Australia, in part because of stockholders becoming emboldened by the availability of litigation funding. Victoria is one of the centres for the hearing of such law suits, and Chief Justice Marilyn Warren AC QC has noted that they benefit the local economy by close to $A1bn per annum. She argues that the courts must be equipped to hear these cases in an adequate manner. The experiences gained in the Great Southern class action have been translated into cost savings from a new paperless court room for the Kilmore East bushfire trial

CORPORATES
BENTHAM IMF LIMITED – ASX IMF, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, GREAT SOUTHERN LIMITED, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Treasury Wine class action launched

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Original article by Pia Akerman
The Australian – Page: 21 : 3-Jul-14

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) will defend a class action that claims it misled the market. Law firm Maurice Blackburn lodged the case in the Federal Court of Australia on 2 July 2014. The suit alleges that TWE failed to manage its inventory and should have known that writedowns were inevitable, but it did not inform the market. The claim is on behalf of 619 shareholders, who suffered losses after the $A190 million writedown

CORPORATES
TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, BENTHAM IMF LIMITED – ASX IMF, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

Disclosure breaches cost Newcrest $1.2m

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 19-20 : 6/19/2014

Gold mining sector leader Newcrest Mining has admitted it engaged in the selective briefing of analysts in 2013. The penalty agreed on in a compromise with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) and still to be ratified by the Federal Court is $A1.2m, an all-time high for such a continuous disclosure rules breach. Newcrest also faces the threat of a class action law suit launched on behalf of affected investors by Slater & Gordon. The mining group had staged its own investigation of the breach, with Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council chair Maurice Newman clearing it. However he did not have the same powers as ASIC

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. PRIME MINISTER’S BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, CITIBANK PTY LTD, RBC CAPITAL (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA