In Abbott v Zoetis Australia Pty Ltd (No 2) [2019] FCA 462, a decision handed down last week by Lee J regarding an application for security for costs in a mass-tort class action being conducted on a "no win no fee" basis, his Honour gave an important endorsement to class actions being "self-funded"—that is, funded by the group members. Abbott relates to a vaccine used in horses to treat the Hendra virus. The applicant and group members are owners of horses which are alleged t

The Australian Law Reform Commission's Report 134, entitled "Integrity, Fairness and Efficiency—An Inquiry into Class Action Proceedings and Third-Party Litigation Funders", has finally been released publicly. As I have noted before, I was involved in authoring two submissions to the inquiry into the litigation funding and class action systems (on behalf of Levitt Robinson and NSW Young Lawyers), and I am happy to say that both submissions were extensively cited in the final

ASIC Opposes Proposed Role as Litigation Funding Regulator As many readers will know, the Australian Law Reform Commission ("ALRC") is currently conducting an inquiry into the federal class actions regime and the regulation of litigation funders, and have been accepting submissions in response to a Discussion Paper. I was a co-author of both the Levitt Robinson and the NSW Young Lawyers submissions. The Discussion Paper and the submissions canvassed a number of issues and I w