Category Archives: Premium
Augusta to Appeal Fair Work Decision
No surprise here: Augusta Ventures is set to appeal the landmark ruling by an Aussie court which found that litigation funders can indeed be placed on the hook for costs orders. Funders had been exempt from such orders in the past, thanks to the Fair Work Act, but a presiding judge recently found that Fair Work did not apply to Augusta in the claim at hand.
Total Costs Approaching £40MM in Therium-Funded UK Post Office Claim
Therium Capital Management is funding a group action against the UK Post Office, which alleges that sub-postmasters were wrongly blamed for accounting shortfalls, which was the actual fault of the accounting system utilized by the Post Office. Some postmasters were fired, forced to pay heavy penalties, and in some cases even went to jail. With the Post Office employing a pair of law firms, total costs in the case have crossed the £35MM mark, and the court is starting to take notice.
Australian Court Accepts ‘Market-Based Causation’ Argument; Opens Door for More Shareholder Class Actions
Litigation funders and plaintiff-side law firms just received encouragement from an Aussie court to pursue more shareholder class actions. In the first-ever shareholder class action to make it all the way to a decision, Justice Beach determined that the theory of market-based causation – which states that the market efficiently prices company information, therefore shareholders do not have to rely on that information from the company – is indeed relevant.
Hong Kong Moving Towards Success-Fee Arrangements in International Arbitration
Hong Kong is stepping up their international arbitration system, with the Department of Justice requesting the permission of success-fee arrangements from Hong Kong’s Law Reform Commission. The move follows the successful implementation of third party funding in international arbitration matters, and coincides with the city’s Arbitration Week.
Augusta Backs CBA Class Action
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is under fire yet again, this time from Slater & Gordon and Augusta Ventures. The lawsuit alleges that the bank illegally raised fees on superannuation members in order to pay commissions to financial advisors.
Michael Dell Invests in Litigation Finance
MSD Partners, an investment fund backed by Dell Computers founder Michael Dell, has invested $70MM into the post-settlement litigation finance space.
Legalist Hires CFO from SoftBank
Legalist, the AI-focused litigation finance fund, has hired Sean Liu of SoftBank to be its CFO. Liu was one of Legalist’s earliest backers, having invested in the fund while working at the Tech-focused Vy Capital.
UK Court of Appeal Approves Therium’s £3B Opt-Out Class Action Against Google
A UK Court of Appeal has approved the enormous U.S.-style class action against Google in the now infamous ‘Safari workaround’ claim. 4 million claimants will be represented in an opt-out action brought by Mishcon de Reya and backed by Therium Capital Management.
IMF Bentham Funding Class Action Against CBL
IMF Bentham is funding a shareholder class action against New Zealand-based CBL Corp., claiming the company failed to disclose that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand had been investigating its solvency for several years. CBL has since entered liquidation, leaving many shareholders out in the cold.
Singapore Expands Third Party Funding to Domestic Arbitration and SICC Claims
Singapore made waves two years ago when – along with Hong Kong – it formally legalized litigation funding. The motivation was to boost the prominence of Singapore’s international arbitration center. As such, Singapore only allowed funding in international arbitration claims… until now. The city-state has announced that litigation funding will be expanded to both domestic arbitration and certain Singapore International Commercial Court proceedings.
