Latest news with #SlaterandGordon
7NEWS
2 days ago
- Business
- 7NEWS
Nick Bruining: Two million old and current customers up for slice of AMP class action over overcharges
More than two million current and former AMP customers have joined a class action against the wealth manager, which began in the Federal Court last week. Led by class action specialists Slater and Gordon and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, the case alleges the trustees of several AMP super funds 'systematically' overcharged members of some popular products between 2008 and 2020. Around 2.5 million AMP customers have received invitations to join the class action over the past few weeks. Many have been contacting their financial advisers to ask whether they should participate. 'In some cases, the customers are concerned that the action will impact the financial advisers who may have sold them the product in the first place,' said one former AMP adviser, who asked not to be named. 'We can explain that the action is against the company and not AMP's former agents' The products include AMP's Flexible Lifetime Super and My Super products. In many cases, legacy superannuation products sold from the 1990s on were consolidated into these products over the years. The claim also includes an allegation AMP was overcharging investment fees on cash and term deposits when no other retail super fund was doing the same. Slater and Gordon head of class actions Emma Pelken-Caven said thousands of Australians trusted AMP with their retirement savings and instead lost thousands of dollars. 'We believe the evidence in this case will show that AMP was driven by profit and not the best interests of its superannuation members — made up of millions of hardworking Australians,' Ms Pelken-Caven said. An AMP spokesman told Your Money the firm was defending the class action. 'Our focus is on delivering quality investment returns, low fees and high standards of service and support to our super members,' he said. A class action is used by a group of people to sue someone or a company for injury, negligence or loss. In the main, class actions are launched by the larger legal firms, which typically take a sizeable clip from the proceeds if the action is successful. In a class action, a test case of an individual can become representative of people in a similar or identical situation, collectively known as members of the class action. The test case becomes the basis for the decision that affects all members of the action. There are variations where you might, for example, only benefit from a favourable decision if you've signed up to the class action. Alternatively, you might be able to use the decision of the class action in court as a basis to pursue your own legal action. You might do better in terms of the amount you receive going down this route, particularly if the class action's legal fees are steep and your circumstances warrant a greater amount. In many class action cases, there's no court decision because the defendant might elect to negotiate an out-of-court settlement. This is often a commercial decision that weighs up the likely costs of defending the action and the chance of success if it ends up in court. In this situation, only those who signed up to the class action would probably benefit. The case against AMP has been set down in the Federal Court to run for seven weeks.
The Guardian
18-05-2025
- The Guardian
‘Absolutely no evidence': how NSW police backflipped on unlawful strip-search
Raya Meredith was at one of Australia's biggest music festivals when a drug detection dog sniffed in her direction. The dog then walked on, the New South Wakes supreme court recently heard, but police officers stopped her. They took her bag and searched it. The 27-year-old, who was postpartum at the time, was then taken into a makeshift tarpaulin, where a female police officer asked her to take all her clothes off, bend over and bare her bottom, drop her breasts and remove her tampon. At one point, a male officer walked in unannounced. The search found no drugs and nothing else illegal. 'It was a horrible thing to go through,' Meredith said in emotional testimony on the first day of a class action against the state of NSW about the search. But so too, Meredith told the court, was the 'gaslighting' she endured for years by the police force who denied her version of events, leaving her feeling 'violated, yet again'. Shortly before a class action against the NSW police began almost two weeks ago, the force back flipped and admitted in court documents to unlawfully strip-searching her. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'It was difficult to have police officers, who were there, who saw it, say I was lying,' she said. Meredith is the lead plaintiff of a class action that wrapped up this week, which was brought by Slater and Gordon Lawyers and the Redfern Legal Centre against the state of NSW over allegedly unlawful strip-searches conducted by police, including of children. Three thousand people have signed on to the class action, but the affected cohort could be twice as large. The case did not just focus on Meredith's evidence or police practices when it comes to conducting strip-searches. A large portion of closing arguments this week went to the police's conduct throughout the case. For two years, until just before the proceedings began, the police denied the search of Meredith was unlawful, arguing they had had 'reasonable suspicion' based on her demeanour and body language. The police had called 22 witnesses, mostly police officers, to contradict Meredith's version of events. But in the days before the hearing began, the police withdrew their witnesses. Meredith was the only witness to appear, taking the case down from the scheduled 20 days to just five. The police had also attempted to subpoena Meredith's medical history even though she had not made a personal injury claim. 'The plaintiff's evidence was, 'If I could have walked out of this case then and there I would have,'' Kylie Nomchong SC, who acted on behalf of the plaintiffs, told the court. 'We say the issue of the subpoena was a strategic one designed to and having the effect of intimidating [Meredith] and that's exactly what it did.' Nomchong said the police should pay aggravated damages due to their conduct during the class action. She told the court the police had made the 'outrageous' submission 'asking your honour to infer that it was objectively necessary to search the plaintiff's breasts and genital area' … without any evidence whatsoever'. 'It's just offensive,' Nomchong said. Two of the witnesses the police force withdrew were the female police officer who conducted the search and the male officer who walked in unannounced. 'The only available inference is that any evidence from those police officers would not have assisted the defendant,' Nomchong said. Julian Sexton SC defended the police's conduct in the case during his closing argument, saying aggravated damages could not be awarded because Meredith had not been recalled to give evidence about how she felt about NSW police's conduct during the class action. However Justice Dina Yehia, who oversaw the case, said she was concerned about their conduct. Specifically, the police having had three iterations of its defence before backflipping shortly before proceedings began to admit it did unlawfully strip-search Meredith. 'That is a matter, I'll be quite honest with you, of grave concern to me,' Yehia said on Thursday. The judge said she was concerned that the police defence suggested officers had formed a reasonable suspicion to strip-search Meredith based on 'things like her demeanour, what was said outside the tent, and [the officers] recalling it was said outside the tent and not inside'. 'There is absolutely no evidence, unless you can take me to it and I've missed something,' Yehia said to Sexton. 'All I have is the officers' statements that say either they don't remember the search, or both that they don't remember the search nor remember the lead plaintiff. In those circumstances, I'm just not sure how this could ever have proceeded in the way that it did with the initial pleadings.' Sexton responded that the defence was based on police 'practice' in such instances, adding it was 'not [based] on distinct recollections of somebody'. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion He also defended the attempt to subpoena Meredith's medical records, saying: 'There is nothing inherently objectionable about issuing a subpoena' and rebutted claims it was designed to intimidate Meredith. 'It was not issued for an improper purpose. There's no evidence to that effect, he told the court. In her opening arguments, Nomchong had told the court that Meredith's circumstance, as lead plaintiff, was not unique, but demonstrative of systemic failures. 'This is an extraordinary case, but not an isolated one, it is at the serious end, but not the most serious.' She argued the vast majority of strip-searches conducted by state police between 2018 and 2022 at music festivals were unlawful because they did not meet the legal threshold for being carried out in serious and urgent circumstances, and argued they were instead treated as 'routine'. Of issue, Nomchong told the court, was also that police knew drug detection dogs are only accurate 30% of the time. Yet they continue to use them as the primary justification for searches. 'That was something the police service knew yet we saw COPS event after COPS event,' she said, referring to the Computerised Operational Policing System database, 'where the only indication for the event was drug dog indication'. She told the court that before the 2018 Splendour in the Grass festival where Meredith was searched, police had little direction on how to conduct a lawful strip-search, and that officers had received 'absolutely negligible' training at the academy and as part of ongoing mandatory training. She argued this was a statewide issue. '[This] didn't just happen during the Splendour in the Grass event, it's happening across the state in relation to all of the music festivals,' Nomchong told the court. 'Same input, same result.' But Sexton disputed these claims, saying each case would have to be considered individually. He also pointed to figures which showed there had been few complaints about unlawful strip-searches between 2016 and 2018. He argued strip-searches at music festivals did fall within legal criteria that police can carry out a strip-search in serious and urgent circumstances, because the searches were 'trying to stop people dying'. 'The urgency of the circumstance is that if the strip-search is not conducted, the drug … will either be consumed or disposed of,' Sexton told the court. He also said that after a dog indicates it has detected drugs, police can then arrest on their own trained assessment such as how a person is behaving. Turning to claims that police considered strip-searches as a matter of 'routine', Sexton disputed this, saying: '[There's a] very, very, very small number of people who are being searched.' The court heard there were 36,000 people at the 2018 Splendour in the Grass. The court was told 148 people were strip-searched and 50 others were searched clothed. Sexton also contradicted claims by Nomchong that police were not adequately directed or trained. 'This isn't about teaching your grandmother to suck eggs, this is about an operational order to experienced policemen,' he said. Closing arguments ended on Friday.
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- The Guardian
Judge suggests NSW police had ‘absolutely no evidence' to justify main strip-search in class action
A Sydney judge says the way the New South Wales police force defended a claim it unlawfully strip-searched a woman at a music festival – including a last-minute admission – was 'of grave concern to me'. Justice Dina Yehia made the comment in the NSW supreme court during closing arguments in a class action against the police. The state of NSW has disputed that the vast majority of strip-searches conducted by police between 2018 and 2022 at music festivals were unlawful. NSW police did, however, admit in court documents before the hearings began last week to unlawfully strip-searching the lead plaintiff, Raya Meredith, at a music festival in 2018. Meredith is the lead plaintiff of a group of 3,000 people, including children, searched by police. She was strip-searched at the 2018 Splendour in the Grass festival after a drug dog sniffed in her direction but then walked on. The class action is being led by Slater and Gordon lawyers and the Redfern Legal Centre. Julian Sexton SC, acting on behalf of NSW police, on Thursday disputed the plaintiff's call for aggravated damages to be paid because of the force's conduct during proceedings. He argued aggravated damages could not be awarded because Meredith had not been recalled to give evidence about how she felt about NSW police's conduct during the class action. Yehia said in response she was 'much more concerned' about the police having three iterations of its defence before backflipping shortly before proceedings began and admitting it did unlawfully strip-search Meredith. 'That is a matter, I'll be quite honest with you, of grave concern to me,' Yehia said on Thursday. The judge said she was concerned the police defence suggested officers had formed a reasonable suspicion to strip-search Meredith based on 'things like her demeanour, what was said outside the tent, and [the officers] recalling it was said outside the tent and not inside'. 'There is absolutely no evidence, unless you can take me to it and I've missed something,' Yehia said to Sexton. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'All I have is the officers' statements that say either they don't remember the search, or both that they don't remember the search nor remember the lead plaintiff. In those circumstances, I'm just not sure how this could ever have proceeded in the way that it did with the initial pleadings.' In the days before the hearing began, the state of NSW withdrew 22 witnesses, mostly police officers who had been due to contest Meredith's version of events. That change saw the case reduced from a scheduled 2o days to three days. Sexton argued the defence was based on police 'practice' in such instances, adding it was 'not [based] on distinct recollections of somebody'. Yehia said the police suggesting there were 'reasonable grounds' for the search due to Meredith's physical appearance and body language were 'specific matters relating to this plaintiff in circumstances where [the female police officer who searched her] not only doesn't remember, but as far as I understand it, didn't even make a notebook entry in relation to that interaction'. Closing arguments before Yehia were expected to end on Thursday.
News.com.au
13-05-2025
- News.com.au
‘Clear and unassailable failure': NSW Police grilled over ‘humiliating' music festival strip search
The NSW Police Force failed to comply with statutory protections for people being strip searched at music festivals because of a 'clear and unassailable failure' to train and supervise officers, a court has been told. Raya Meredith is the lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit and is representing more than 3000 people subjected to potentially unlawful police strip-searches at music festivals in NSW between 2016 and 2022. The lawsuit, which has been brought by Slater and Gordon and the Redfern Legal Centre against the state of NSW, alleges unlawful searches were conducted by NSW Police, including on children, at multiple popular music events. Ms Meredith's lawyer, Kylie Nomchong SC, told the Supreme Court in her closing statements on Tuesday it was incumbent on NSW Police to train officers in relation to statutory guidelines around the use of searches. She said NSW parliament had recognised that it is 'highly invasive and humiliating trespass to the person in that conduct (a strip search)', and that as such there were statutory legal preconditions for such searches. 'What will become manifestly clear is that there was a clear and unassailable failure on the part of the NSW Police Force to exercise any reasonable care and skill to ensure that police officers deployed to music festivals, including that which the plaintiff attended in 2018, were properly trained, and that is particularly so where we say there was a known expectation that strip searches would take place.' Ms Nomchong said police had failed to 'exercise reasonable practise in relation to both training and delivery', which in the statement of claim was a 'direct causes of police officers failing to comply with statutory powers'. She went on to tell the court there had been a 'critical failure' on the part of the state of NSW to call witnesses in regard to training modules on strip searches conducted by officers, or officers who briefed police that day. Ms Meredith was subjected to what her lawyers told the Supreme Court was a 'degrading and humiliating' experience 'akin to a sexual assault' when she was made to strip by police at a Byron Bay music festival in 2018. The court was told Ms Meredith was made to undress in front of a police officer for inspection and was also required her to remove her tampon – NSW Police later admitted in court in April that the search was unlawful. Ms Meredith had come to the attention of police after a drug dog sniffed in her direction, but then walked on. Nonetheless, police allegedly told Ms Meredith to remove her top in a makeshift tarpaulin cubicle at the site. She was further made to move her breast and to bend over, before being instructed to remove her shorts and underwear while a police officer inspected her vagina and anal area. No drugs were found during the search. Ms Nomchong told the court the number of police searches in NSW was decreasing, while the number of strip searches were increasing. In 2016, police received 16 complaints regarding strip searches, followed by 14 complaints in 2017 and two in 2018. The NSW Police Force also faced nine civil cases in 2016, seven in 2017, and five in 2018. 'It shouldn't be for the NSW Police Force to be concerned about complaints. It should be that the NSW Police Force should be concerned about the prevalence of conducting unlawful strip searches against the citizens of NSW,' she said. 'It doesn't really matter if there's five complaints or six complaints. There's no magic number about that. What there is is there's a prevalence of strip searches being undertaken without compliance with statutory powers'. Ms Nomchong said she would submit that NSW Police were 'well aware' of problems surround strip searches prior to 2018, following an investigation by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission into complaints. The LACC described a 'breakdown in knowledge transfer process'.
Scotsman
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Scotsman
70 per cent of Scottish drivers believe car technology will reduce collisions
Watch more of our videos on and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565 Visit Shots! now From self-driving cars, electric vehicles, blind spot detection, ISA technology and more, the automotive industry is always looking for the next major upgrade. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... From self-driving cars, electric vehicles, blind spot detection, ISA technology and more, the automotive industry is always looking for the next major upgrade. Car technology has also developed further ways of improving road safety and safer driving practice. A new study on car safety by law firm Slater and Gordon found that 70 per cent of Scottish drivers agree that car technology is a major factor in reducing car collisions. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad With car technology becoming more normalised on Scotland's roads, drivers are becoming more familiar with technological features that can contribute to car safety. However, are we becoming too complacent and depending on our vehicles to ensure we get from A to B safely? A new study on car safety by law firm Slater and Gordon found that 70 per cent of Scottish drivers agree that car technology is a major factor in reducing car collisions. For example, ISA, Intelligent Speed Assistance, has been available since 2015 and is mandatory in all new cars sold in the EU from 2022. ISA provides drivers with a speed limit detection in their car system, encouraging drivers to stay within local speed limits. ISA systems use a combination of speed map data and satellite global positioning to recognise the necessary data. The research revealed that although 60 per cent of Scottish drivers would feel comfortable driving a car with ISA, almost two thirds of Scottish drivers are not familiar with the technology and what it specifically means as a feature in cars, highlighting the need for greater awareness of its life-saving potential. Stuart Cochran, Principal Lawyer and Head of Personal Injury at Slater and Gordon, adds: 'There are many car technologies available now that play a key part in ensuring safer roads and safer driving, such as ISA technology. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's fair to say we are still in the early stages of adoption with the new UK policy only being introduced last year. However, as the data shows, there is optimism around its potential for creating safer roads, and the main priority for the next few years is to make sure drivers are aware of why these car technologies are in place, so they can feel truly comfortable when they do use cars with these systems in the future. 'In my experience of supporting clients who have been involved in car collisions, speeding is sadly all too often a factor in causing these. 'Whilst the development of car technologies is a positive one and another step in the right direction for reducing car collisions, it is something we can't depend on solely. It still remains a responsibility that all drivers must keep vigilant.'
