Maurice Blackburn gets ball rolling on Australia's biggest class action

Australian plaintiff form Maurice Blackburn has initiated proceedings in what may turn out to be the biggest class action in Australian history. The claim involves allegations that a dozen of the country’s largest banks have been charging late and overdraft fees to customers that are far in excess than the amount it costs them to cover the transactions. To date, around 40,000 people have signed on to the litigation, and it is anticipated that as many as 100,000 litigants may eventually participate. IMF Ltd – a publicly traded litigation funding company – will finance the law suits an can take a cut of any settlement or judgment reached. Australian plaintiff law firms, by contrast, do not earn a percentage of settlement or judgment, and earn only their fees.

Maurice Blackburn gets ball rolling on Australia's biggest class action amlawdaily.typepad.com Tue, May 18, 2010