AUSTRALIAN CLASS ACTIONS: lawyers

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02 April

Shine Lawyers: One of Australia's leading class action law firms

From the Shine Lawyers website:

Class Actions

Sometimes a wrongdoing can affect more than one person. If this happens, our legal team can make a group claim on behalf of everyone affected. This is known as a class action.

Class actions allow individual claims to be brought together in a single action against a defendant. Joining a class action can speed up the legal process and reduce hassle and cost.

A class action can bring to account a wrongdoer who causes widespread harm. If the case is successful, the Court can fairly divide the compensation amount between the group.

Legislation varies between Australian states and territories so it’s important that you’re represented by a law firm with knowledge and experience in this area.

Shine Lawyers provide legal services on a No Win No Fee* basis and can help you find out if you have a claim for compensation.

*Conditions apply

How do I start a class action?

Class actions take place in the Federal Court and State Supreme Courts of Australia.

There are three criteria that need to be fulfilled for the lawsuit to take place:

- There must be 7 or more people claiming;
- From the same, or similar, event/circumstances; and
- The claim must relate to at least one common issue of law or fact.

Class actions in Australia work on an opt-out model. This means that all potential claimants become members of the action whether they intended to participate or not. These members are bound by the judgment of the court or settlement unless they opt-out. If you are involved in a class action you will be notified.

Who is the Class Actions Team?

Shine Lawyers' Class Action team includes some of the firm’s most experienced special counsel, solicitors and support staff, including law clerks and paralegals.

Investigations and Class Actions

Current Investigations and Class Actions

Successful Class Actions
Arundel Suntown Tip Class Action
DePuy/Johnson & Johnson Hip Replacement
Quakers Hill Nursing Home Class Action
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Class Action
Wickham Securities Sandhurst

Investigations No Longer Proceeding
Audi and Volkswagen Investigation

Further Information

For further on information, see the following:

What is a class action?
The benefits of class actions
How to take part in a class action

Shine Lawyers' website: Click here

01 April

Shine Lawyers: Traditional owners file class action against the Commonwealth over contamination of Indigenous land at Wreck Bay

Media Release from Shine Lawyers

Indigenous Australians whose land was "negligently" contaminated by the historic use of toxic firefighting foam on the South Coast of New South Wales have filed a class action against the Department of Defence.

The substance, known as PFAS, leached into the soil and waterways, damaging culturally significant sites in Wreck Bay, negatively impacting the value of the land.

“Shine Lawyers has filed the action in the Federal Court on behalf of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community," said Class Actions Practice Leader Joshua Aylward.

This will be the fourth PFAS Class Action filed against the Commonwealth by Shine Lawyers.

"Our claim will allege that the Commonwealth negligently allowed contaminants within the fire-fighting foam to escape from the HMAS Creswell and the Jervis Bay Range Facility bases, which has considerably impacted the value of the surrounding land, and adversely affected the community’s connection to country," Mr Aylward said.

“The people of Wreck Bay have been living in the South Coast region since before British settlement and as a result of this contamination, locals fear that the next generation will lose a spiritual connection to the water and land, that has been cultivated there for hundreds of years,” he said.

The Indigenous group in this ecologically and culturally rich environment regard the inland waters, rivers, wetlands and sea as something intimately attached to their homes and properties.

The Australian Defence Force commenced a detailed site investigation at HMAS Creswell and Jervis Bay Range Facility in March 2017, with the results detecting PFAS in surface water, groundwater and sediment around the base.

The report found widespread PFAS contamination in groundwater both on and off-base, exceeding health-based recommendations for drinking water.

“In 2018, a Parliamentary Inquiry into PFAS contamination recommended that compensation be paid to people living on land contaminated by PFAS from defence sites, but the Wreck Bay community hasn’t seen a dollar, and probably won’t without legal intervention” said Aylward.

Local man gives up job to defend “God's country”

James Williams who has lived in Wreck Bay on and off for forty nine years, has given up fulltime employment to pursue this class action.

“I’ve put everything on hold to make sure that my community and I, see justice,” he said.

He is currently fathering eight children with his partner (four of his own), and he mourns the fact that these children, will never know the land as intimately as he has, over almost half a century.

“You have to take into consideration our cultural background and how we connect to the land, no money will compensate us for the loss of this spiritual connection.

“We look at the land like it’s our mother and you know everyone has great respect for their mother. We can’t just pack up and move to another area and replace her. She is sacred.

“The history within Booderee National Park goes back thousands of years, before any white man came here. When your identity is taken away from you, you are nothing. You have nothing left.

“People come to our land and call it God’s country because it’s so beautiful. The Government has just crucified our country.”

“The land will give you back what you give it. You have to give it your respect and the Government has poisoned it with PFAS instead,” said Williams.

PFAS explained

PFAS are a class of harmful chemicals used by the Department of Defence for around 40 years from the 1970’s in firefighting foam. The chemical does not naturally break down, and is known to accumulate in the body, leading to high concentrations over time.

PFAS soil and groundwater contamination can lead to high levels of the chemical in drinking water, plants, animals and people.

While the health impacts of exposure to PFAS are still being researched, many PFAS experts have linked the toxin to various diseases, including cancer.

About the class action

The class action, Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council & Anor v The Commonwealth of Australia was filed in the Federal Court in Sydney.

It is believed approximately 500 indigenous locals have been impacted by the contamination.

This is a Shine Lawyers funded action.

The class action is claiming for three types of loss caused by the PFAS contamination: loss in property value, inconvenience, distress and vexation; and cultural loss.

This is the fourth PFAS related class action, for a tenth community, to be filed by Shine Lawyers.

The investigation for Wreck Bay follows the successful class actions for Oakey and Katherine by Shine Lawyers against the Department of Defence, for the contamination of soil and groundwater which led to the decline of property values.

For more information, click here.

The other side of Australian Class Actions: Workers at the mercy of litigation funders

One of the most important benefits of a well-run class action system is that plaintiffs, usually ordinary people who cannot afford big-ticket litigation, will not bear the costs of the legal action against a big company needed to right a wrong.

That’s the theory.

In practice, class action litigation is now full of lawyers and litigation funders - our newest corporate cowboys - chasing staggering riches with little regard for plaintiffs.

That’s why law firms are beefing up their class action capabilities.

It’s also why Australia has become a honey pot for big institutional overseas investors piling money into our litigation funding companies.

In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more profitable asset class in the country.

Some class actions reveal just how perverted the system has become for everyone, except lawyers and litigation funders.

In the Federal Court last October, Justice Michael Lee ridiculed a settlement in a class action involving a group of retail workers who claimed to be employees of Appco Group Australia Pty Ltd. Lee described the proposed settlement as “derisory”.

Full story: The Australian

31 March

Thousands of Aussie tradies could be sued for $642 million if class action succeeds

The key points:

- Shine Lawyers organising class action against ISGM for 4,000 maintenance staff

- Claims they were 'sham contractors' denied leave pay and superannuation

- But ISGM argues they got $61 an hour compared with $35 on employee award

- Therefore if they win the lawsuit, company will counter-sue for the difference.

Thousands of tradies have been warned they could be sued for $642 million if they win a class action lawsuit against a Telstra contractor.

Shine Lawyers is building a massive claim against ISG Management, also known as Tandem, claiming the workers should have been treated as employees.

Instead, they were employed as individual contractors and had to pay for their tools and transport to and from sites where they did Telstra maintenance.

The lawsuit, led by former contractor Robert Mutch, demands back payment of sick leave, annual leave, and superannuation in accordance with the relevant award.

However, ISGM warned it would be forced to counter-sue all the tradies if the claim was successful because it paid them far more than the award.

Tradies have until May 7 to opt out, according to a letter they will be sent, or they will automatically become part of the lawsuit and could be counter-sued.

Documents filed with the Federal Court in Melbourne by ISGM argue it paid more than $1.55 billion to 3,450 workers in 2011 to 2020.

The company's modelling suggested the subcontractors were paid an average of $61 an hour compared to a casual award rate of just $35 an hour.

On average they earned $113,718 a year in the 2018 financial year, compared to $59,000 plus superannuation for a casual working full -time hours.

'This would mean that ISGM would effectively claim back up to $1.55 billion paid to thousands of Australian small businesses over the last nine years and would then pay the award-based employee entitlements to individual employees,' it said.

'This could be catastrophic for small business operators.'

ISGM said it could not afford to effectively pay workers twice for the same work, and would have no choice but to sue for the difference.

Full story: The Daily Mail Australia

30 March

Class action update: Blue Sky action push gets a boost

Momentum for a class action against Blue Sky has accelerated after a small shareholder obtained access to the collapsed fund manager’s books.

The investor, David Furniss, an accountant, also is being allowed by Queensland’s Supreme Court to view key insurance documents covering director’s indemnity.

The granting of rights to inspect investment, audit and insurance documents could help determine the viability of class-action lawsuits over the failure of ASX-listed Blue Sky Alternative Investments.

“This decision is important because it finally gives us access to Blue Sky’s books and records,” said Piper Alderman partner Lachlan Lamont, whose firm initiated the Supreme Court action.

“We can now conduct a forensic analysis of Blue Sky’s accounts and valuation procedures which will help us particularise the shareholders’ claims.”

Piper Alderman, Shine Lawyers and Gadens are among law firms investigating Blue Sky’s accounts to see if any questions arise about disclosures to investors in the former market-darling, which was once valued at more than $1 billion.

“We are still investigating and I am aware of that decision ... which I think is a good decision because ultimately it will probably save everyone time and costs if access to key documents is granted earlier rather than later,” Shine class actions practice leader and former Australian Securities and Investments Commission senior lawyer Craig Allsopp said.

Brisbane-based Blue Sky oversaw funds with assets from a burrito chain to property investments, posting rocketing profits and share prices.

But the wheels fell off after Glaucus Research, short-sellers that make money from share prices falling, dispatched research in March 2018 casting doubt on areas from how Blue Sky was valuing investments to the amount of assets under management.

Blue Sky rejected the claims but tumbled into administration in May 2019.

Justice Graeme Crow, in a decision handed down in Rockhampton last week, said that Mr Furniss had purchased 722 shares in Blue Sky at $13.80 per share, $9963.60 in total, on January 18, 2018. “Some 15 months later his shareholding was worthless,” he wrote.

“[Precedent] cases demonstrate that the pursuit of a reasonable suspicion of a breach of duty is a proper purpose for a substantial shareholder, and in my view, it is also a proper purpose ... for a small shareholder, despite the quantum being much smaller, the rights of the shareholders are the same.”

Justice Crow wrote that there was “substantial support” for the conclusion that there was a case for investigation based on some of Blue Sky’s own market statements after the short-selling critique.

That included Blue Sky stating in April that “it is clear that Blue Sky has fallen short of market and shareholder expectations around transparency and disclosure”.

Another announcement Justice Crow cited was Blue Sky in May saying an “immediate priority is to rebuild trust with stakeholders by making significant changes to the business and management model”.

The court granted access to documents from July 1, 2015, to May 20, 2019, the day Blue Sky was placed into voluntary administration.

“Mr Furniss is not a stranger to Blue Sky, but rather a shareholder who has a right to inspect documents if he can prove, as he has, that he is acting in good faith and for a proper purpose,” Justice Crow wrote.

Mr Furniss has been granted access to look at any indemnity insurance policies that covered Blue Sky or any of its directors and executives between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2020. The quantum of any insurance policies would outline what a potential class action could go to court to seek damages for.

However, Mr Allsop said shareholders looking to mount an action against Blue Sky and former directors or executives will likely have to wait for a deed of company arrangement, which has been in place since June 2019 and included a moratorium on claims against the company, to be executed or come off. It will also likely require leave from the court to launch a class action.

Former Blue Sky director and head of venture capital Elaine Stead, who was successful in defamation proceedings brought against The Australian Financial Review over two columns in 2019, gave testimony in her action that touched on Blue Sky’s legal requirements about disclosure of information.

Under cross-examination by defence barrister, Sandy Dawson, Dr Stead said an article published by the Financial Review that had previously been published in June 2017 was “incorrect”.

That Financial Review article stated Blue Sky’s $3 billion of assets were evenly split across property, real assets, such as infrastructure, and finally private equity and venture capital.

Full story: AFR

$150 million class action launched against SA Power Networks over Cudlee Creek bushfire in Adelaide Hills

A class action lawsuit seeking $150 million for victims of the 2019 Cudlee Creek bushfire in the Adelaide Hills has been lodged with the South Australian Supreme Court.

Key points:

- The Cudlee Creek bushfire swept through the Adelaide Hills in December 2019

- It was caused by a tree falling on power lines

- A law firm is suing SA Power Networks for damages

Maddens Lawyers is seeking compensation for up to 1,000 victims of the blaze, which destroyed more than 90 homes and killed one person in December 2019.

It claims SA Power Networks' inadequate fault protection settings led to the bushfire, which started when a tree fell on power lines and then a fence.

Brendan Pendergast the Victorian law firm Maddens Lawyers said South Australia's energy distributor knew it was a catastrophic fire danger day, with a total fire ban in place.

"And yet we see in the Office of the Technical Regulator's report that the fault mechanisms were adjusted to normal settings and quite alarmingly the auto-reclose device operated twice so it de-energised the line and then re-energised it after the tree fell on the line and brought it down to the ground," he said.

Cudlee Creek bushfire burning in
the Adelaide Hills threatened the
town of Lobethal.(ABC News)

In its report on the fire released in August, the Office of the Technical Regulator said it "could not identify any indicators that could have enabled a reasonable person to identify this tree failure prior to the event".

Mr Pendergast said he would present experts who said the tree was already "severely compromised" three years before the fire and should have been identified as "dead, dying or dangerous".
Range of losses from bushfire

He said losses went beyond the destroyed homes and 1,000 hectares in damaged vineyards.

"One person tragically lost their life, more than 50 firefighters were injured and many of the citizens living up there had suffered psychological or psychiatric injury as a result of the trauma of the bushfire experience," he said.

"So we're seeking to recover compensation for those aspects of the fire as well."

An SA Power Networks spokesman said the company had not yet seen "the detail of the claim" but would defend its actions.

"An independent government report concluded the fire start was due to a tree falling from outside the vegetation clearance zone surrounding power lines, and that SAPN had acted in accord with its bushfire and vegetation management procedures and equipment settings," he said.

SA Power Networks is controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing.

Maddens Lawyers is also representing victims of the November 2019 Yorketown bushfire, which was caused by a power network fault.

That case is heading to court-ordered mediation next month.

"We're optimistic that proper resolution can be achieved at that time rather than taking the matter before the court for a determination," Mr Pendergast said.

Mr Pendergast's firm has been involved in a number of lawsuits relating to bushfires, starting with the Ash Wednesday fire that struck the Adelaide Hills and parts of Victoria in 1983.

Full story: ABC News

26 March

Victorian public housing residents file class action after surviving off "nuts and beans"

Public housing tower residents have filed a class action over the lockdown in Victoria, claiming they survived off ‘nuts and beans’.

Residents and neighbours are shining a light on conditions in the nine locked-down housing commission towers through social media with one resident saying it was ‘worse than prison’.

Public housing tower residents shut inside their homes during Melbourne’s lockdown are suing the Victorian government claiming they were left without food and medication.

A claim was filed in the Victorian Supreme Court last week, alleging residents are owed damages for the “invalid”, “oppressive” and “degrading” lockdown that failed to consider human rights.

More than 3000 people were locked inside nine apartment towers from July 4 to either July 9 or July 18 last year, before the entire state went into hard lockdown on August 2.

The claim alleges lead plaintiff Idris Hassan and his family were supplied with “spoiled” food after being banned from buying groceries.

After being provided nothing for three days they were given four partially-defrosted sausage rolls, placed at the door step, that were “not fit for human consumption”, it alleges.

Ms Hassan and his nine-year-old son suffered asthma attacks after they ran out of medication, with the family surviving on “nuts and beans”, it alleges.

Victoria’s Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Dieman is named as the first respondent in the suit, along with Deputy Public Health Commander Finn Romanes, Chief Commissioner of Police Shane Patton, and the state of Victoria.

Residents were deprived of access to fresh air, exercise and occupational activities, it is claimed.

They were exposed to health risks as communal areas were not disinfected, and PPE was not provided, despite the presence of COVID-19 in the towers, it is alleged.

Government workers left bins overflowing and some residents lost their jobs after being unable to work during the lockdown, it is claimed.

The claim alleges they were “not consulted” about the lockdown, which banned them from leaving their homes without approval.

“Some time on 4 July 2020, prior to 3.30pm, (Victoria Police) decided to deploy hundreds of Victoria Police officers to the Estate Towers to enforce the detention of the residents of those towers,” the claim states.

It alleges Ms van Dieman had 15 minutes to review, sign, and consider the human rights implications of the lockdown before a press conference scheduled for 4pm on July 4.

It claims she “felt constrained” to approve the directions and “considered that she could not delay signing” before the press conference, which she appeared in alongside Premier Daniel Andrews.

“(She) allowed the decisions of third parties, or their actions and attitudes, to control the way she exercised her discretion,” the claim alleges.

The lockdown was not explained at the time to the residents of the towers, according to the claim.

“The decision not to inform the residents of these matters was not governed by questions of practicability, but was a deliberate decision made to ensure that the residents did not go elsewhere,” it alleges.

“Intimidating conduct” by Victoria Police officers also began “triggering pre-existing trauma” in some residents, the claim alleges.

The lead plaintiff, Mr Hassan, is a Somalian refugee who arrived in Australia after fleeing civil war.

He fled his village in 1990 when it was targeted by soldiers and made his way to Australia with his six siblings, making it to Australia in 1998.

At the time of the lockdown he lived in the public housing tower in Sutton Street, North Melbourne, with his wife and three children aged 9, 7 and 4.

About an hour after the lockdown began Mr Hassan asked a police officer for permission to buy groceries and medical supplies and was refused, it is alleged.

No food deliveries were made to him for several days and authorities “refused the Australian Muslim Social Services Agency permission to deliver culturally-appropriate food supplies to the residents”, it is alleged.

He ran out of asthma medication and despite calling a hotline number played on television, was not delivered medication in time and suffered asthma attacks, the claim alleges.

The medication was supplied on July 8, four days after they were locked inside the towers, the claim says.

Food supplied was not halal, a requirement of their Muslim faith, and Somali interpreters were not engaged in explaining why they had to go COVID-19 testing, it is alleged.

Residents were tested for COVID-19 “without giving their full, free and informed consent and, or in the alternative, under duress”, the claim alleges.

The class action is being run by solicitor Serene Teffaha of law firm Advocate Me.

It will be heard in the Supreme Court at a date to be set.

Full story: News.com.au

24 March

South Australian doctors explore class action for "wage theft" following NSW and Victorian actions

Junior doctors in South Australia are “strongly considering” launching a class action against SA Health for systemic “wage theft” over “unpaid overtime”, following similar legal moves interstate.

The SA Salaried Medical Officers Association has begun discussions with lawyers handling class actions in New South Wales and Victoria.

SASMOA chief industrial officer Bernadette Mulholland told InDaily “wage theft” was a major problem for overworked junior doctors and “not confined to the eastern states”.

“SASMOA is strongly considering taking similar legal action to recover wages for junior doctors,” she said.

“SASMOA is undertaking preliminary work and has spoken with the lawyers representing medical officers in NSW and Victoria for wage theft.”

Mulholland said “our investigations validate that wage theft for junior doctors is widespread in health”.

“These doctors are pressured to attend well before the commencement of their rostered shifts, do not get their meal breaks and work unpaid overtime,” she said.

“Hospital administrators know it happens but it is ignored.”

A class action was launched last week against a Victorian health service, amid claims of systemic underpayment of junior doctors.

It follows a class action launched in December on behalf of early career medicos in NSW against health authorities there, over “exploitative work conditions”.

Law firms Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and Hayden Stephens & Associates said the action was based on a claim for “underpayment of wages” for junior doctors.

“It is a claim to seek recovery of payment for the extensive unpaid overtime performed by doctors,” the lawyers said in a statement at the time.

Lawyer Hayden Stephens said the “no-win, no-fee” NSW class action could involve more than 10,000 junior doctors, many of whom were worried about patient safety “after being pressured to work unpaid overtime to the point of exhaustion”.

Mulholland said the problem had also been going on for too long in South Australia.

She said the union had surveyed members late last year on matters that should be addressed during the latest round of enterprise bargaining.

“The number one agenda item that trainee doctors raised was putting an end to ‘wage theft’, including a penalty imposed on the employer for breaching excessive hours worked by junior doctors and fatigue provisions,” she said.

Mulholland said one trainee doctor had stated in the survey: “There is significant destruction to the morale of the workforce too fearful to claim actual hours worked. Cost cutting always seems to pressure junior doctors, who are unable to assert themselves as they are reliant upon reports from those that sign their timesheets and are placed on annual contracts. Staff are continually coerced to not claim.”

The union has requested a specific clause in its new enterprise agreement “that junior doctors get paid for the hours they work”.

“This may seem silly to some but in an environment where you regularly do not get paid for the hours worked it is necessary to spell it out to the hospital administrators,” Mulholland said.

“Making junior doctors work well beyond a rostered shift has implications for patient care and results in fatigues and low morale.”

A spokesperson for SA Health said: “Negotiations for a new SA Health Salaried Medical Officers Enterprise Agreement have commenced and without prejudice discussions are taking place between Department of Treasury and Finance (as the declared employer), SA Health and SASMOA.

“These discussions will be guided by principles of fairness and accountability.

“Medical Officers are highly-valued members of our workforce and it is our intention to progress with negotiations in a timely manner, ultimately delivering a package that supports Medical Officers and the wider system to continue to deliver high quality health services.”

Health Minister Stephen Wade said “we are aware that these matters are being discussed as part of negotiations for a new enterprise agreement”.

“We support doctors getting paid for the work that they do,” he said.

Full story: InDaily

22 March

New pelvic mesh implants class action against Boston Scientific launched by Shine Lawyers

Lawyers behind a landmark class action over damaging Johnson & Johnson pelvic mesh implants have filed a new suit on behalf of women allegedly harmed by other pelvic implants.

Multinational medical device maker Boston Scientific is accused of acting negligently and selling implants that were not fit for purpose or of acceptable quality, the case filed in the Federal Court on Monday alleges.

One of the women included in the class action says she has been in constant pain since an Obtryx sling was implanted to reposition her bladder in 2012.

"It has been 9 years of suffering," Deborah Stanford said in a statement on Monday.

"If I knew how hard this was going to be, I never would have gone through it."

Ms Stanford has had nine operations, including one that reduced her bladder capacity to 15 per cent, and now has her husband act as her full-time carer.

She is on strong pain relief and says urinating "feels like a piece of sandpaper is being rubbed down there."

The statement of claim alleges the devices - supplied on the advice of the patients' treating doctor to treat pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence - caused chronic pain, organ damage, new incontinence issues and other complications.

Rebecca Jancauskas

The class action, using a Melbourne mother-of-five Debra Fowkes's experience as a case study, alleges Boston Scientific failed to properly warn patients about the nature and severity of the risk of developing such complications.

"There are few painkillers that exist that allow you to function normally, and manage the agony that pelvic mesh can cause," Shine Lawyers' class actions practice leader Rebecca Jancauskas said in a statement.

Full story: The Young Witness

21 March

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers with an unparalleled record in Australian Class Actions

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, established in 1919, is regarded as the leading Class Action legal firm in Australia. Their website lists their extensive experience and ongoing string of successful class actions:

Class actions
We're Australia's leading class action practice with an unparalleled record, having obtained more than $3 billion for our clients.

Our class actions

About class actions

Australia's no.1 class actions law firm

Class action industry news

Our class actions

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NT Youth Justice class action
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Slater & Gordon – Third-Party Shareholder Class Actions

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Pro-bono unlawful detention of people seeking asylum class action
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About class actions

What is a class action?
Class actions provide a powerful voice to those who otherwise would be denied any measure of justice and redress. They are an important part of the legal system that enables disputes and claims involving potentially large numbers of people to be resolved in a single case, allowing ordinary Australians to hold large and powerful organisations accountable when they have engaged in serious misconduct.

How do class actions work?
Where seven or more people have claims that arise out of similar circumstances, a class action can be brought by one claimant on their own behalf and as a representative of others. The class action process saves time and expense and avoids the need for the courts to determine common issues of fact or law more than once, enabling disputes and claims involving large numbers of people to be resolved via a single case.

What are the benefits of joining a class action?
Class actions allow victims of mass wrongs to group together to protect their rights and fight for fair compensation. They allow the recovery of losses more fairly and efficiently, and at less individual cost.

Often, one individual lacks the resources to take on a large corporation. But if enough individuals have experienced the same wrongdoing, collectively they can become a powerful force and strong voice for justice.

Class actions are a force for greater corporate and social responsibility and accountability and all Australian consumers and businesses can potentially benefit from their outcomes.

What does it cost to join a class action?
Class actions are run on a 'no win, no fee'* fee basis and signing up will not expose you to any out of pocket costs, even if the legal proceedings are not successful. The law firm or litigation funder will bear the costs and the risks in running the case – not the participating group members.

Maurice Blackburn's class action record is second to none. $100m+
We are the only Australian class actions firm to deliver $100M+ settlements to clients in shareholder and listed securities actions, and have done so on seven occasions.

We've recovered in excess of $3 billion for wronged clients since the inception of our class actions practice in 1998.

Listed securities class actions

Australian leaders.

Our reputation for excellence in class actions is unparalleled, increasing our chances of:

- Better returns

- Faster recovery

- Lower cost to clients

Class action types

Misleading shareholders
When companies engage in misleading or deceptive conduct, their actions can imperil shareholders' financial futures. Maurice Blackburn has run class actions relating to disclosure issues and misleading and deceptive conduct by companies in takeovers, in prospectuses and in ASX releases. We are the only Australian law firm to have resolved shareholder and listed securities class actions for in excess of $100 million, and have done so seven times now.

Unfair selling practices
Consumers are protected by law against unfair and deceptive sales practices. Maurice Blackburn has pursued class actions on behalf of Australian consumers, in cases where retailers have engaged in unfair or deceptive practices. Examples include the unfair bank fees case and the Cash Converters payday lending case.

Price fixing and market rigging
Price fixing and market rigging can impact on the livelihoods of both small Australian businesses and national companies. Maurice Blackburn has pursued class actions on behalf of Australian businesses and customers, including against Amcor Visy and Air Cargo class actions.

Negligence
When an avoidable disaster impacts on large numbers of people, a negligence class action provides an avenue for victims to seek restitution. Maurice Blackburn has pursued class actions on behalf of victims of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, the 2009 oil spill in the Timor Sea, and the 2011 Queensland floods.

Selling defective products
Defective medical products can cause serious injury, ongoing health problems and diminished quality of life. Maurice Blackburn class actions have pursued restitution from companies and corporations whose defective breast, knee and hip implant products have caused significant suffering for Australian patients.

Mistreatment of vulnerable people
We have a responsibility to give a voice to vulnerable people who suffer at the hands of those who are more powerful. Maurice Blackburn has pursued class actions on behalf of disabled residents mistreated in care, victims of abuse in detention facilities, and falsely imprisoned youths.

Andrew Watson National Head of Class Actions, Class actions

"I'm an experienced litigator in class actions, particularly for shareholders who have been victims of corporate misconduct."

Rebecca Gilsenan Executive Director, Principal Lawyer, Class actions

"I have extensive experience in running complex and novel litigation, including class actions in the areas of price fixing, failed investment schemes, product liability and securities."

Ben Slade State Managing Principal, Office Leader, Class actions

"I am driven to give a voice to those who would otherwise have to suffer because those who have done them wrong are all too powerful."

Vavaa Mawuli Principal, Class actions

"The most rewarding thing about my work is the change in scale of what we are able to accomplish."

It doesn’t cost you anything to know where you stand:

1800 309 443

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Indonesian seaweed farmers win class action following one of Australia's largest oil spills

Lead plaintiff Indonesian Seaweed farmer Daniel Sanda

Some 15,000 Indonesian seaweed farmers whose livelihoods were destroyed by one of Australia's largest oil spills have won a Federal Court class action

The company behind one of Australia's largest oil spills has been found liable for damaging the livelihoods of thousands of Indonesian seaweed farmers.

The Federal Court on Friday afternoon ruled the operator of the Montara Wellhead Platform, about 700 kilometres west of Darwin, breached its duty of care to the farmers after untested, deficient barriers were used to cap its H1 Well in 2009.

Oil and gas spilled uncontrollably from the well into the Timor Sea for 74 days, damaging seaweed farms off Timor and an island further south.

Class action lead applicant Daniel Sanda, who lived on about $2,000 a year before taking up seaweed farming on Rote Island, had calculated the oil spill cost him 739 million Indonesian rupiah ($A67,000) in profits over six years.

"I am satisfied that this oil caused or materially contributed to the death and loss of (Mr Sanda's) crop," Justice David Yates said.

"I am satisfied that, although difficult to assess, and although attended with uncertainty, the applicant's loss can be calculated, and that he is entitled to an award of damages."

The oil company, PTTEP Australasia, accepted it was negligent in suspending and operating the well but contended it didn't owe a duty of care to the farmers.

Even if that duty of care was owed and breached, it said there wasn't any evidence the oil reached the areas, let alone that oil was in a form that would be toxic to the seaweed crops.

It told Australian Maritime Safety Authority in August 2009 that about 200 to 400 barrels of oil was spilling per day, revising that to the higher figure at trial.

But Justice Yates found the rate was 920 barrels per day "as a minimum" and was likely being discharged at an uncontrolled rate exceeding 2,500 barrels per day.

PTTEP had shown in its oil spill contingency plan that it was concerned as to whether oil spilled at the H1 Well could reach shorelines in Australia, Timor and Indonesia and harm the marine ecosystems there, he said.

While the modelling showed no impacts, it was not dealing with an uncontrolled well blowout arising from a failure to properly suspend the well, the judge said.

"The possibility of impacts to those shorelines and harm to the marine ecosystem carried with it the possibility of harm to those businesses or enterprises that depended on the commercial exploitation of that ecosystem, including in relation to seaweed," the judge said.

"I am satisfied, therefore, that the foreseeability of that risk of harm arising from the respondent's actual acts or omissions is established and that the respondent breached its duty of care to the applicant and the Group Members.

"No other consideration has been raised which militates against a finding of breach."

Class action lead applicant Daniel Sanda had calculated the oil spill cost him 739 million Indonesian rupiah ($A67,000) in profits over six years.

Justice Yates ruled Mr Sanda should be awarded 253 million Indonesian rupiah, having applied a discount of 40 per cent due to uncertainty in Mr Sanda's exact income and found that no income loss occurred in 2013.

Full story: SBS

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