Finality and Fairness in Australian Class Action Settlements

Abstract

The extent to which a group member is bound by the outcome in a class action is of great significance to group members, parties and the justice system generally as it raises the core concerns of finality and fairness. In relation to judgment, the High Court of Australia in the Timbercorp class action determined that the resolution of a class action will not dispose of the individual claims of group members that fall beyond the scope of the common issues that were the subject of the proceeding. However, in relation to settlement, the position is unclear because courts have exhibited divergent reasoning in relation to the resolution of the individual claims/issues of group members, as exemplified by the Great Southern and Willmott Forests class actions. The purpose of this article is to employ a claims/issues framework as an analytical tool to ascertain the extent to which a group member’s claims/issues can be determinatively resolved by settlement.