Slater & Gordon

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Slater & Gordon is an Australian plaintiff law firm founded in 1938 by William Slater. In recent years, it became notable for undertaking class actions against large corporations.

It undertook a class action against Esso in 1999 on behalf of Victorian businesses after a Royal Commission found the energy company to be "grossly negligent" over the 1998 Esso Longford gas explosion. ^[1]

In 2000, the company lodged a writ in the Victorian Supreme Court against Broken Hill Proprietary Company (BHP) on behalf of traditional owners in Papua New Guinea over the collapse of a tailings dam led to waste from the Ok Tedi Mine polluting the Ok Tedi and Fly Rivers in 1984. BHP had settled claims with 30,000 other landowners in the Ok Tedi region. ^[2]

In December 2005, the firm successfully negotiated a settlement with James Hardie worth $4.5 billion on behalf of unions and people suffering from asbestosis, mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases as a result of exposure to asbestos while working for the company. ^[3]

In 2006, Slater & Gordon launched a class action against Telstra on behalf of shareholders for allegedly failing to properly reveal its financial position.^[4] Later in January, the company stated that it was considering action against Multiplex over losses caused by the Wembley Stadium reconstruction. ^[5]

[edit] References

Slater & Gordon website

[edit] Notes

↑ Australian Associated Press (AAP), "Vic. businesses urged to join Longford class action" 29 June 1999, accessed through Macquarie.net, 31 January 2006
↑ AAP, "PNG landowners start legal action over Ok Tedi mine" 11 April 2000, accessed through Macquarie.net, 31 January 2006
↑ AAP, "James Hardie victim says deal too late" 1 December 2005, accessed through Macquarie.net, 31 January 2006
↑ 7 News, "Telstra hit with $300 m class action" 19 January 2006, accessed 31 January 2006
↑ The Age Online, Multiplex shareholders "disappointed", 31 January 2006, accessed same date.