The topic of disclosure in litigation where there is the presence of third-party funding has been a hot topic in several jurisdictions, with defendants strongly arguing that there needs to be an increased level of transparency when it comes to litigation funding.
The following piece was contributed by Anne Freeman of Australian law firm, Piper Alderman.
Virgin Australia, which has been sued by investors who purchased unsecured notes in the airline based on statements in a 2019 prospectus for a capital raising, has been ordered to advise the lead applicant in the class action whether its has made a claim against its insurer for its costs and any liability in the class action, and whether its insurer has agreed to grant indemnity. It has also been ordered to produce copies of any insurance policies which might respond to the claims made in the class action[i].
One of the great benefits of third-party legal funding is the ability for small companies and even individuals to fight on a level playing field against the world’s largest corporations. This dynamic was made evident in a recent case, where a US inventor was able to achieve a $10 million award for patent infringement from Microsoft, after enlisting the support of a litigation funder.
London’s specialist competition court, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), decided in October 2021 that a class action should proceed on behalf of rail passengers who are allegedly being overcharged by the Southeastern and South Western rail franchises by not making ‘boundary fares’ sufficiently available. Southeastern and South Western could have taken last year’s decision as a prompt to do the right thing by their customers and offer compensation. Unfortunately, they sought to delay resolution of the case, and ultimately the payment of compensation, by pursuing an appeal.
The District Court in Amsterdam has delivered a significant decision in a ground-breaking ESG action brought against Airbus. The action is organised and funded by the ESG team at Woodsford.
Mastercard and Visa are no strangers to legal action, having endured class actions and legal challenges all over the world. Currently, a collective action funded by Bench Walk Advisors accuses the credit giant of illegally overcharging Multilateral Interchange Fees (MIFs) in the UK.
Six producers of big rigs have allegedly conspired in a 14-year scheme to defraud government regulators over emissions mandates. The Competition Appeal Tribunal has approved a £2B claim marking a historic first for United Kingdom collective actions. The Road Haulage Association (RHA) is representing an estimated 18,000 claimants as the beneficiaries of the hopeful award.
The following piece was contributed by Martin del Gallego and Matthew Harris of Australian law firm, Piper Alderman.
This article considers a recent decision of the Federal Court of Australia, awarding damages to class action claimants on an aggregate basis. Aggregate damages is a rare global award which covers all group members described or identified in the award. This was the first instance of aggregate damages being awarded to a funded litigant in Australia, and may spur a trend in representative claims brought on this basis.
