Allens: Services: Litigation & Dispute Resolution: Class actions

We regularly publish articles on class actions (and related) matters. These publications contain commentary and analysis to help organisations keep up-to-date with and better understand the complex and challenging issues related to class actions.

29 May 2011 Client Update: Securities class actions - where are we up to? The trial of the securities class actions against the Centro Group - the last of a cluster of high-profile securities class actions commenced in the Federal Court between 2006 and 2008 - is scheduled to commence next week. The commencement of the trial brings with it the possibility of the first judgment in an Australian securities class action and, importantly, the possibility of the first decision to deal with causation in a securities class action. As Centro is only the third securities class action to reach trial, it is a good time to reflect on the current state of the Australian securities class action landscape. Partner Ross Drinnan and Senior Associate Jenny Campbell report.
19 July 2011 Audio: Will class action waivers be enforceable? A recent United States Supreme Court decision found that arbitration clauses with class action waivers can be used in standard form customer contracts. Partner Duncan Travis spoke to Boardroom Radio about the reasoning behind the decision and the possible implications for Australian businesses.
18 May 2011 Paper: Securities class actions in Australia Securities class actions are now an established part of the Australian legal landscape. It is said that Australia is now the most likely jurisdiction outside of the United States in which a corporation will face class action litigation. Further, the Australian class action regime has been described as having 'one of the most liberal class action rules in the entire world'.
2 May 2011 Focus: Litigation funding decision impacts on insolvency practitioners The New South Wales Court of Appeal recently held, with significant implications for insolvency practitioners, that a litigation funding agreement constituted a 'financial product' and could be rescinded because the funder was not licensed to deal in 'financial products'. This follows the Full Federal Court's 2009 decision that litigation funding arrangements for class actions constitute 'managed investment schemes' (a particular type of 'financial product'). Partners Ross Drinnan and Michael Quinlan and Senior Associate Jenny Campbell report.
20 April 2011 Focus: Litigation funding hits another speed hump The New South Wales Court of Appeal recently held that a litigation funding agreement constituted a 'financial product' and could be rescinded because the funder was not licensed to deal in 'financial products'. This follows the Full Federal Court's decision in 2009 that litigation funding arrangements for class actions constitute 'managed investment schemes' (a particular type of 'financial product'). Partner Ross Drinnan (view CV) , Senior Associate Jenny Campbell and Lawyer Elnaz Nikibin report on the Court of Appeal's decision in International Litigation Partners Pte Ltd v Chameleon Mining NL [2011] NSWCA 50.
26 November 2010 Client Update: New class actions regime for NSW – Bill tabled A new class actions regime for NSW has been introduced into Parliament. Partner Ross Drinnan and Lawyer Mark Hare report.
22 November 2010 Competition & Consumer Law Quarterly In this edition we look at the ACCC's 'tougher' approach on mergers; the first Public Warning Notice under the new Australian Consumer Law; two important cartel class actions decisions; the record penalty in the Cabcharge case; and some of the consumer reforms of the Australian Consumer Law.
3 November 2010 Client Update: New class actions regime for NSW A draft Civil Procedure Amendment (Supreme Court Representative Proceedings) Bill and a discussion paper detailing a proposed new class actions regime for NSW have been released. Partner Ross Drinnan, Senior Associate Jenny Campbell and Lawyer Mark Hare report.
25 October 2010 Audio: New class action regime for NSW announced by government The New South Wales Government has announced a new class action regime. Partner Ross Drinnan speaks to Boardroom Radio about the changes introduced under the new regime and the implications these changes will have for business.
25 October 2010 Food Law Bulletin In this edition, we look at the issue of the mandatory display of nutritional information on fast food; a new beef labelling system in NSW; misleading claims about extra virgin olive oil; colour as a trade mark on food labelling; and establishing a product's reputation for a successful trade mark opposition.
27 September 2010 Client Update: Multiplex class action settlement – a bird in the hand? Recently, the Federal Court handed down its reasons for approving the settlement of the Multiplex shareholder class action proceedings. Partner Ross Drinnan (view CV), Senior Associate Jenny Campbell and Lawyer Mark Hare report on the settlement and the court's reasons for its approval. Of interest are Justice Finkelstein's comments about the settlement of class actions generally, the factors his Honour considered in deciding whether to approve the proposed settlement and issues surrounding the question of causation in shareholder class actions.
10 August 2010 Client Update: New class action regime for NSW The NSW Attorney General has announced a proposal to introduce a new class action regime for NSW. Partner Ross Drinnan and Senior Associate Jenny Campbell report on the proposal, which is likely to increase the number of class actions commenced in the Supreme Court of NSW.
6 August 2010 Competition & Consumer Law Quarterly Welcome to the first edition of the Allens Arthur Robinson Competition & Consumer Law Quarterly newsletter.
5 August 2010 Focus: US courts' extraterritorial reach in securities fraud cases reinstated The recently enacted Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act extends the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the US federal courts for claims brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice to enforce federal securities laws in relation to overseas conduct and partially overturns the recent decision of the US Supreme Court in Morrison v NAB. Partner Annette Hughes and Lawyer Dora Banyasz report.
6 July 2010 Client Update: New Federal Court procedure for class actions The Federal Court has issued a Practice Note relating to the conduct of representative proceedings brought under Part IVA of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth). Partner Ross Drinnan, Senior Associate Jenny Campbell and Lawyer Hayden Smith report on key features of the Practice Note, which is designed to deal with some of the practical aspects of conducting representative proceedings.
5 July 2010 Focus: Historic decision creates upheaval for US securities class actions The United States Supreme Court has overturned more than 40 years of jurisprudence of US federal courts by ruling that plaintiffs may only pursue claims alleging securities fraud under the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in relation to the sale or purchase of shares in the US or of securities listed on an American domestic stock exchange. As Partner Belinda Thompson and Lawyer Emily Austin explain, the historic decision limits the types of securities class actions that may be brought against foreign companies that are not listed on an American stock exchange.
5 May 2010 Audio: Funded class actions excluded from MIS government announces Partner Alex Cuthbertson speaks to Boardroom Radio about the Federal Government's move to clarify the funding of class actions.
5 May 2010 Focus: Clarification of class action funding In response to a recent Federal Court decision that funded class actions were managed investment schemes as defined in the Corporations Act 2001, the Minister for Corporate Law, Chris Bowen MP, announced yesterday that the Federal Government is drafting regulations to clarify that funded class actions and similar arrangements are not managed investment schemes. Partner Alex Cuthbertson and Senior Associate Kylie Virtue report.
22 October 2009 Focus: A cross for litigation funding The Full Court of the Federal Court has held that a litigation funding arrangement constitutes a managed investment scheme. Partner Belinda Thompson and Lawyer Nick Buttner report.
25 September 2009 Focus: Access to justice The Federal Attorney-General has recently released a report by the Access to Justice Taskforce. Its recommendations include a review of the Federal Court class actions regime and a proposal that the civil justice system recover the full public cost of protracted litigation from parties to those proceedings. Partner Peter O'Donahoo and Lawyer John Rainbird report.
7 August 2009 Client Update: Complex corporate collapses and schemes of arrangement – Opes Prime The Federal Court of Australia has approved the Opes Prime schemes of arrangement which not only provide for the release of creditors' claims against the Opes companies, but also claims against their financiers. The decision paves the way for schemes to be used as an efficient mechanism to resolve the multitude of litigation that can flow from complex corporate collapses. Partners Belinda Thompson and Anne Ferguson report.
13 May 2009 Focus: Another tick for litigation funding The Federal Court has dismissed an argument that litigation funding arrangements in a class action constituted a managed investment scheme. Partner, Ross Drinnan and Lawyer, Talitha Fishburn, report on the case.
17 March 2009 Focus: Shareholder class actions – storm clouds gather Current economic conditions are significantly increasing the risk of listed companies facing a class action claim brought by their shareholders. Against that background, Partner Alex Cuthbertson and Senior Associate Matthew McCarthy look at a number of issues of which listed companies and their directors should be aware.
6 March 2009 Client Update: Class actions – the Jameson decision The NSW Court of Appeal has confirmed that class actions may be brought for alleged misleading and deceptive conduct, notwithstanding that the key issues must be individually established for each group member, provided a substantial common issue can be identified. This recent decision also confirms that representative action under the state's Uniform Civil Procedure Rules may be brought on behalf of a group defined by reference to entry into a litigation funding agreement, similarly to the position in the Federal Court. Partner Alex Cuthbertson and Lawyer Pouyan Afshar report.
16 October 2008 Focus: Class Actions Litigation committees: a new approach to managing multiple class actions? – In a decision handed down last week relating to the Centro class actions, the Federal Court's Justice Finkelstein proposed a new approach to managing multiple class actions – an independently selected litigation committee comprised of class members. The judge stated that a 'litigation committee is the best vehicle to provide the groups' views' and that the court should take this into account when making decisions affecting the operation of class actions. Partner Peter O'Donahoo and Lawyer Claire Harris report.
3 June 2008 Focus: Civil Justice Reform VLRC civil justice reform report: class actions – The Victorian Law Reform Commission has conducted a wide-ranging review of the Victorian civil justice system, with a view to reducing the cost, complexity and inefficiency of civil proceedings. Following a lengthy consultation process with stakeholders and the release of two exposure drafts, the VLRC released its Civil Justice Review report on 28 May 2008. Partner Peter O'Donahoo and Senior Associate Susie Stone explore some of the more contentious proposals on class actions and litigation funding. Over the coming weeks, the proposals dealing with the role of experts and pre-trial examinations and discovery will be the subject of further Focus articles
1 February 2008 Focus: Commercial Litigation Multiplex litigation funding decision upheld – The Full Federal Court has upheld Justice Finkelstein's decision at first instance that a represented group in class action proceedings in the Federal Court can be defined by the entry of group members into litigation funding agreements with a litigation funder. Partner Peter O'Donahoo, Senior Associate Duncan Travis and Articled Clerk Emily Austin report on the decision and its implications.
18 October 2007 Focus: Commercial Litigation Review of Victoria's civil justice system – part 2 – Following its first set of draft civil justice reform proposals of 28 June 2007, the Victorian Law Reform Commission has now released an additional set of draft proposals in its second exposure draft report of 6 September 2007. Partner Peter O'Donahoo, Lawyer Susie Stone and Articled Clerk Adam Butt report.
8 October 2007 Focus: Commercial Litigation Is 'fraud on the market' theory heading to Australia? – On 20 September 2007, the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee released its discussion paper: Shareholder Claims against Insolvent Companies – Implications of the Sons of Gwalia decision. In the Sons of Gwalia decision, the High Court held that a shareholder who had a misleading and deceptive claim could rank as an unsecured creditor. One of the consequences of the decision is the greater potential for bringing shareholder claims – particularly for contravention of continuous disclosure obligations. Partner Ross Drinnan, Senior Associate Kylie Virtue and Law Graduate Jonathan Light report
24 September 2007 Focus: Commercial Litigation Review of Victoria's civil justice system – The Victorian Law Reform Commission is currently undertaking a review of Victoria's civil justice system, with a view to reducing the cost, complexity and inefficiency of civil proceedings. As part of that review, the VLRC has released its draft civil justice reform proposals, which it set out in its exposure draft of 28 June 2007. Partner Peter O'Donahoo and Articled Clerk Adam Butt explore some of the VLRC's more contentious draft reform proposals. A second exposure draft, setting out further draft reform proposals, was released on 6 September 2007. Those proposals will be the subject of a further Focus article, to follow shortly
13 August 2007 Client Update: Dispute Resolution Multiplex decision takes different approach to Aristocrat – Partner Louise Jenkins and Articled Clerk Emily Austin review the recent Federal Court decision in Multiplex, which appears to indicate a growing acceptance by the courts of the role of litigation funding.
6 July 2007 Biotech News Inappropriate disclosure of health information and access to medical records – Lawyer Jacqueline Goodall reports on the outcome of three recent decisions by the federal Privacy Commissioner on the protection of health information under privacy law.

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