2019 is shaping up as a watershed year for class
actions.
With royal commissions, the release of the ALRC report
and its proposals for law reform, increased competition in the
litigation funding market and confirmation of courts' power to
make common fund orders in open class actions, some say there are
the conditions for a perfect storm.
Our class actions group has identified ten developments we
expect to see this year.
- We'll see fewer competing open class
actions. Even though common fund orders have been upheld,
in the shadow of GetSwift[1] funders will be less interested in
funding open class actions because they carry an unpredictable risk
of being stayed.
- Funders will sharpen their focus on claims other than
for securities fraud. Funders, and lawyers who originate
litigation concepts, will be attracted to claims outside of the
securities space because history tells us they are less likely to
be the subject of competing open class actions.
