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New Zealand Weather Tightness Case Settles for NZ $1.25 Million

This week, James Hardie Industries announced a settlement in a weather tightness class action heard in Auckland High Court—in the middle of a trial expected to last 17 weeks. James Hardie, a global producer of fiber cement and fiber gypsum, will receive NZ $1.25 million as part of the settlement.

Yahoo! Finance details that Harbour Litigation Funding will pay James Hardie’s award, and neither party will make an admission of liability. This represents a final settlement for the ‘White litigation’ regarding Harditex cladding. However, two more claims remain—the Cridge litigation and the Waitakere litigation.

Country Manager John Arneil stated that the outcome of the White litigation supports the stance that the allegations were lacking in merit.

A ruling in the Cridge litigation is expected sometime this month. An Auckland High Court is not expected to hear the Waitakere litigation until the summer of 2023.

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LitFin Launches Action for Belgian Security Cartel Victims

By John Freund |

Thousands of Belgian businesses may be eligible for compensation following revelations of a sweeping price-fixing scheme involving the country’s top private security providers. From 2008 to 2020, industry giants Securitas, G4S, and Seris colluded to inflate prices and carve up the market, depriving clients of competitive rates. The Belgian Competition Authority confirmed the scheme in July 2024, levying a landmark €47 million fine and acknowledging widespread harm to companies and institutions relying on security services.

An article in LitFin outlines how the litigation funder is spearheading a class action to secure damages for affected parties. LitFin estimates total damages could exceed €800 million, with any organization that contracted private security during the cartel period—whether for routine guarding or specialized services like airport security—potentially eligible to join the claim.

LitFin’s approach eliminates financial barriers by covering all legal and procedural costs in exchange for a share of any recovery. With 21 competition class actions already underway across the EU, the firm brings established expertise to this ambitious claim.

Case Developments Comercial

Innsworth Challenges Mastercard Settlement Terms in CAT Judicial Review

By John Freund |

A brewing legal rift in one of the UK’s largest consumer class actions has escalated, as litigation funder Innsworth Capital seeks judicial review of the £200m Mastercard settlement approved by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). Innsworth, which financed the long-running Merricks v Mastercard case, is contesting the tribunal’s distribution structure, claiming it unjustly limits the funder’s return to less than half its investment, while allocating over £30m to a third-party charity.

An article in the Global Legal Post reports that Innsworth’s challenge centers on the May ruling, which capped its return at £22.8m—just 0.5× its £45.6m outlay—while setting aside the remaining balance of a £54.4m discretionary fund for either top-up class member payments or donation to the Access to Justice Foundation (ATJF). Innsworth alleges the tribunal made legal and procedural missteps, including misapplying Australian case law and failing to account for the commercial risk it bore in a case once valued at £14bn.

The funder argues that a return of 1.5× was both contractually contemplated and supported by precedent, and that the tribunal denied it a fair chance to respond to the proposed settlement mechanics. Its filing calls attention to what it deems an “arbitrary and irrational” allocation that favors a charity over the party that funded the claim’s pursuit.

The timing of Innsworth’s action is notable, following the Civil Justice Council’s June 3 report urging statutory regulation of funders and a legislative fix to PACCAR. The outcome of this judicial review could influence how courts and legislators assess funder profits—and reshape expectations around post-settlement fund allocations in collective redress cases.

Case Developments Comercial

Google Faces £1B UK Trial Over App Store Fees, Funded by Bench Walk Advisors

By John Freund |

A landmark collective action against Google has cleared a key legal hurdle in the UK, with the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) certifying a £1.04 billion lawsuit brought on behalf of thousands of UK app developers.

The class action, spearheaded by Strathclyde University competition law professor Barry Rodger and backed by litigation funder Bench Walk Advisors, accuses Google of abusing its dominant position by imposing excessive commissions on app sales through its Play Store.

The case filing outlines that the CAT has issued a collective proceedings order, allowing the case to move to trial. The claim targets exorbitant commissions, alleging these charges unfairly burden UK app developers—many of them small- and medium-sized enterprises—by effectively locking them into the Play Store ecosystem through restrictive contractual and technical practices.

The case adds to mounting regulatory and legal scrutiny of Google’s Play Store practices worldwide. The European Commission recently issued preliminary findings under the Digital Markets Act, the UK’s CMA is assessing Google’s “Strategic Market Status,” and U.S. courts have already found the tech giant in breach of antitrust laws. The timing of the CAT’s ruling puts further pressure on Google, particularly as similar legal actions, including a new suit by Korean developers, continue to emerge globally.