Allianz Class Action

Johnson Winter & Slattery (JWS) are the joint solicitors running the class action. The firm has leading-edge experience in advising clients on large-scale litigation and class actions, and its litigation partners have been involved in many of the significant claims and major class actions in Australia over the last 20 years. JWS has the experience acting for both plaintiffs and defendants in large-scale litigation and class actions related to consumer insurance products, antitrust/competition, corporate, financial services and tax matters.

The Allianz Class Action has been consolidated with a similar proceeding, which was commenced by Maurice Blackburn against Allianz in the Supreme Court of Victoria, being Jordan Wilkinson v Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd S ECI 2020 04230. On 15 September 2021, the Court ordered that both JWS and Maurice Blackburn act jointly for class action group members against Allianz and Allianz Life. The orders are accessible below.

On 27 September 2021, we filed a Consolidated Statement of Claim on behalf of the plaintiffs and group members, which is accessible below.

Allianz and Allianz Life filed a Defence to the Consolidated Statement of Claim on 16 November 2021, and the Plaintiffs filed a Reply to the Defence on 7 December 2021.

The Allianz Class Action was initially funded by Balance Legal Capital I UK Ltd (Balance) directly (Balance Funding) and was commenced by Ms Tracy-Ann Fuller, the Representative Plaintiff (Fuller Plaintiff) on that basis. The Fuller Plaintiff has elected to enter into an arrangement and enter into a further Retainer that will enable her to make an application for a group costs order (JWS Retainer).

While the Balance Funding has not terminated, the terms of the JWS Retainer are now governing the funding of the Allianz Class Action, insofar as they relate to the Fuller Plaintiff. If there are any changes to the funding arrangements summarised below, including reversion to the Balance Funding, we will notify group members in an updated Funding Information Statement.

The JWS Retainer arrangement provides that JWS will represent the Fuller Plaintiff in the Allianz Class Action, and will only be paid by the Fuller Plaintiff and Group Members for its fees and expenses incurred in the Allianz Class Action in the event of a (i) settlement of the Allianz Class Action and the recovery of the settlement sum from the defendant(s) or another party or part of them; or (ii) an award of damages in the Fuller Plaintiff’s favour in respect of the Allianz Class Action (including any appeal) (Successful Outcome).

A Successful Outcome will not be binding on the Fuller Plaintiff and Group Members until it is approved by the Court.  As part of that approval process, the Court will also approve the amount payable to JWS, which will be calculated as explained below.

In order for us to represent the Fuller Plaintiff and Group Members in the Allianz Class Action and only to seek payment as ordered by the Court in the event of a Successful Outcome, JWS has been issued with a limited recourse loan by Balance (Loan). This Loan allows JWS to provide the legal services and pay for any expenses over the course of the Allianz Class Action. Balance is not entitled to claim repayment of the Loan from JWS unless there is a Successful Outcome, and any amount paid to Balance will be limited to the amount ordered to be paid to JWS by the Court. Balance has no contractual recourse against the Plaintiffs or Group Members for repayment of its Loan with JWS.

More comprehensive details about this funding arrangement can be obtained from the Funding Information Summary Statement and the Class Action Summary Statement.

If there are any further changes to the funding arrangement, Group Members will be notified on this website and also through other means.

There are no upfront costs payable by the Group Members to become part of the class action. This is because JWS will jointly represent the Plaintiffs in the Allianz Class Action, and will only be paid by the Plaintiffs and Group Members for its fees and expenses incurred in the Allianz Class Action in the event of a Successful Outcome and subject to order of the Court.

If the proceedings are unsuccessful, Group Members will not be liable to pay any of the costs of the proceedings.   JWS will not be required to repay Balance for any amounts drawn under the Loan if there is not a Successful Outcome in the Allianz Class Action.

If there is a Successful Outcome, then subject to Court order, JWS may be paid its fees and expenses incurred in the Allianz Class Action from any proceeds recovered on the Fuller Plaintiff and Group Members’ behalf calculated using one of the following methods:

• calculated using time based billing for professional fees, with expenses (for example, fees for experts and barristers and the costs of taking out insurance to cover payment of any costs order made in the Allianz Class Action) charged at cost; OR
• the Plaintiffs may make an application for JWS and Maurice Blackburn, as joint solicitors representing the Plaintiffs, to receive payment for their fees and expenses calculated as a percentage of the amount of any award or settlement. This is known as a group costs order (GCO), where the liability for payment of the percentage is shared among the Plaintiff and all Group Members. The percentage paid under the GCO is determined by the Court and the Court has the power to adjust the percentage at any time over the course of the Allianz Class Action, including on a Successful Outcome.

The legal proceedings seek compensation for Group Members in the form of a refund of the amount paid for the products and, if applicable, any additional interest paid on the finance arising from the financing of the insurance premiums obtained by some group members.  Alternatively, a payment which reflects the difference between what Group Members paid for the policy and what it was actually worth.

The actual amount of compensation payable will depend on the outcome of the case and the circumstances of individual Group Members, and therefore cannot reliably be predicted.

The length of the proceedings is difficult to predict but the litigation is likely to last several years. It is not uncommon for a class action in Australia to last for more than two years.

Between 11 and 14 February 2022, on behalf of the plaintiffs:

• a Court-approved notice was distributed to potential group members by email (where possible); and
• the Court-approved notice was published in newspaper advertisements, notifying potential group members of the commencement of the class action and of the right of group members to opt out of the proceeding before 4pm on Friday 15 April 2022. The opt out deadline has now passed.