Wills v Woolworths Group Ltd [2022] FCA 1545

Wills v Woolworths Group Ltd [2022] FCA 1545

Settlement approved under s 33V as fair and reasonable; funding commission capped at contractual entitlement of $4.73 million rather than higher common fund order; legal costs and disbursements in the sum of $14,576,736.36 (including uplift) approved after rejecting referee’s report that had disallowed uplift and investigation work and made reductions unsupported by evidence; Legal Profession Uniform Law disclosure obligations were practically and sensibly met, and any breach would only void cost agreement in futuro, not ab initio, not precluding fair and reasonable recovery.

Parties
Applicants: Norman Leslie Wills and Jane Anne Danaher (as Trustees for the Minty Tin Superannuation Fund); Respondent: Woolworths Group Ltd (formerly Woolworths Ltd) (ACN 000 014 675)
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
19 October 2022
Procedural Posture
Representative Proceedings / Settlement Approval; Determination of Legal Costs and Funding Commission
Outcome
Settlement approved; funding commission limited; legal costs approved; proceedings to be dismissed upon administration of settlement; no order as to costs.
Legal Topics
Settlement Approval, Class Action Funding Commissions, Legal Costs Assessment, Professional Conduct of Legal Practitioners
Civil Procedure Commercial Law Corporations Law Settlement Approval Class Action Funding Commissions Legal Costs Assessment Professional Conduct of Legal Practitioners

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Parties

Norman Leslie Wills and Jane Anne Danaher (as Trustees for the Minty Tin Superannuation Fund)

Applicants

Woolworths Group Ltd (formerly Woolworths Ltd) (ACN 000 014 675)

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Representative Proceedings / Settlement Approval; Determination of Legal Costs and Funding Commission

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether settlement of proceeding should be approved under s 33V of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth)
  2. 2 Whether proposed funding commission and deduction exceeds contractual entitlement and is appropriate
  3. 3 Whether reimbursement payment to applicants is reasonable

Ratio Decidendi

Settlement approved under s 33V as fair and reasonable; funding commission capped at contractual entitlement of $4.73 million rather than higher common fund order; legal costs and disbursements in the sum of $14,576,736.36 (including uplift) approved after rejecting referee’s report that had disallowed uplift and investigation work and made reductions unsupported by evidence; Legal Profession Uniform Law disclosure obligations were practically and sensibly met, and any breach would only void cost agreement in futuro, not ab initio, not precluding fair and reasonable recovery.

Court Disposition

Settlement approved; funding commission limited; legal costs approved; proceedings to be dismissed upon administration of settlement; no order as to costs.

Orders

  • Settlement of proceeding approved under terms of Settlement Deed and Settlement Distribution Scheme.
  • Funding commission to funder approved at $4.73 million (not $7.42 million sought).