Attorneys net millions and plaintiffs get pittance in lawsuit
Publish date: 26 November 2004
Issue Number: 1226
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: General
Legal experts in Australia have criticised a recent case which ended with lawyers, who ran a class action over potentially faulty pacemakers, receiving $2.3m in fees, while the average damages payout to the elderly heart patients - after legal costs - was less than $5 000.
The Sydney Morning Herald quotes Susan Armstrong, a lecturer in litigation at the University of NSW, as saying it is irrational for such a complex action to be run, partly at taxpayers\' expense, and then to recover such small amounts for the plaintiffs. The payout to the estates of some clients is as low as $375. Justice Ronald Sackville said he had no reason to believe the costs were inappropriate, but he would not sign off until they had been verified by an independent solicitor or costs consultant. Full report in the Sydney Morning Herald
