Blake Dawson will again be representing the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) when it goes to court to challenge a class action being run by Maurice Blackburn. Blake Dawson partners Ashley Wharton and Fiona Hudgson will be leading the ANZ legal team as it seeks to ''vigorously'' defend the action.
This is not the first time the firm has represented the bank in a case involving Maurice Blackburn. In 2002 Maurice Blackburn represented 754 Victorian customers in case against ANZ in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
Thousands of bank customers have rallied behind the class action, which is the first of 12 cases to be pursued against the nation's largest banks, for charging penalties and late fees which they and Maurice Blackburn believe to be unfair and illegitimate.
Other banks set to be handed notices as part of the class action include Bank of Queensland, Bank SA, BankWest, Bendigo Bank, CitiBank, Commonwealth Bank, HSBC, National Australia Bank (NAB), St George, Suncorp and Westpac.
Litigation funder IMF is alleging that the banks charged Australian customers more than A$5bn in penalties and late fees, which were allegedly charged unfairly and wrongfully and is seeking around A$50m from the ANZ for fees and penalties paid, plus interest.
Slater & Gordon general manager of commercial and project litigation Ken Fowlie said that while this particular case was different in what it is seeking to recover, the class action regime has dealt with a variety of cases similar to this in the past. “The class action framework has the capacity to deal with a wide range of areas,” he said. Fowlie added, that funders such as IMF provide a balance to the ledgers between the defendants and the plaintiffs, “who tend to be less well resourced”.
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