Investors in the failed agricultural investment scheme manager, Great Southern Group, have launched a class action against the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank which lent them money.

The bank took up the loans which were initially taken out with the Great Southern Group before it was placed in receivership in May 2009.

The 280 investors involved owe a total of around $14 million.

Law firm DC Legal has launched the class action in the Federal Court.

Solicitor Bruce Dennis says it wants all of these loans wiped off the books.

"The bank bought the loans from the Great Southern Group and our contention is that they bought the loans with all the problems inherent with the loans," he said.

Mr Dennis says the investors would not have taken out the loans if they had been provided with more information.

"The investors were misled as to the returns that they could expect," he said.

"Investors in many cases were not told that the financial advisers were being highly remunerated and investors were not told that the company was relying on continuing to sell New Woodlands in order to stay in business."

Vicki Busby, on behalf of herself and other people similarly situated, sued JRHBW Realty, Inc., d/b/a RealtySouth (hereinafter referred to as "RealtySouth") alleging that RealtySouth violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA") by charging individuals a $149 "ABC Fee" (sometimes called an "administrative brokerage commission") for which no service was performed. RealtySouth denies the allegations of the lawsuit.

The Court certified the case as a class action. Notice was sent to all potential class members in December 2008. You can find that notice and more information about the case and the claims process at www.hwnn.com/realtysouthclassaction.

The Court has entered partial summary judgment finding RealtySouth liable as a matter of law for charging a $149 "ABC Fee" (sometimes referred to as an "administrative brokerage commission") that was unearned under RESPA.

RealtySouth maintains the right to contest an individual’s claim for damages by contesting whether or not the person is a member of the class, including whether their transaction is covered by RESPA, and whether they in fact paid the fee or whether it was paid for them. Thus, to receive payment, class members must submit the enclosed claim form and supporting documentation to the claims administrator in order to be eligible for payment.

The claim form and accompanying paperwork must be submitted to the claims administrator. The claims administrator is Dahl, Inc. Claim Forms and supporting documentation must be postmarked, e-mailed, or faxed by December 15, 2010. Claims should be mailed to:

RealtySouth Claims Administrator
C/O Dahl, Inc.
P.O. Box 2061
Faribault, MN 55021-2061.
Claim forms and supporting documents may also be faxed to 1-507-384-0024 or e-mailed to realtysouthclaims@dahl-inc.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

For those individuals who prove their membership in the class, the damages for an individual claim are the $149 paid to RealtySouth. Those damages are automatically trebled by statute to $447.

If you have questions, you may call the claims administrator at 1-877-541-3050. You may call class counsel at 800-568-5330 or you may visit the website www.hwnn.com/realtysouthclassaction.

Five Maine residents have filed a complaint against GMAC Mortgage LLC on behalf of themselves and a class of Maine homeowners, alleging that the company systematically files false certifications that it has a right to foreclose, and false affidavits when asking courts to enter foreclosure judgments.

The suit comes after a court in Maine sanctioned GMAC for its flawed foreclosure process, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. Maine District Court Judge Keith Powers, in a Sept. 24 ruling, chided GMAC for its "high volume and careless approach" to affidavit signing, Reuters reports.

The Maine residents are represented by Andrea Bopp Stark from the Molleur Law Office in Biddeford, Maine; Thomas Cox, coordinator of Maine Attorneys Saving Homes in Portland; the National Consumer Law Center and the Center for Responsible Lending.

A U.S. judge has awarded class-action status to a lawsuit filed by traders against Amaranth Advisors over the firm’s 2006 collapse following bad bets on natural gas prices, according to Reuters. On Monday, New York district judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that futures traders who bought, sold, or held natural gas futures or options with the $6.4 billion hedge fund between Feb. 16 and Sept. 28, 2006, could sue as a group in order to lower litigation costs and possibly increase their settlements.

In her ruling, Scheindlin stated that the case “involves more than 1,000 potential claimants who are asserting claims based on common issues,” and the judge noted, “Claimants likely have no interest in pursuing their own claims, which may be prohibitively small.” The traders allege that Amaranth manipulated prices of New York Mercantile Exchange natural gas futures contracts in violation of U.S. law. A lawyer for the firm declined to comment, and Amaranth founder Nicholas Maounis is among the defendants that remains in the case.

Georgia's top court has ruled in favor of a former Atlanta police officer who sought immunity after being charged with murder in a shooting of a 19-year-old who was killed while the officer was investigating a report of a vehicle break-in.

The state Supreme Court on Monday upheld by a 6-1 decision a lower court ruling in favor of former officer Raymond Bunn, who claimed he was acting in self-defense when he shot 19-year-old Corey Ward in a parking lot in 2002.

Bunn contended that Ward was driving the SUV straight at him when Bunn shot at the window, hitting Ward twice in the left side of his head.

Prosecutors said Bunn was not directly in front of the vehicle, which belonged to Ward's mother, when he fired.

The Supreme Court majority ruled that the preponderance of evidence favored Bunn's story, despite conflicting evidence.

Google never knew that it will actually have to pay a heavy price for its free to use social network - Google Buzz. As per AFP, Google has agreed to pay $8.5 million as settlement of a privacy lawsuit over Google Buzz according to court documents. Eva Hibnick, a 24-year old Florida resident and Harvard Law School student, haa filed a class action lawsuit against Google Buzz for sharing personal data without user content. Not only that, the California based search giant is asked to make more efforts to educate users about Google Buzz's potential impact of privacy.

Google Buzz social network was in troubled waters after Private Group complained against the privacy issues with the service. However, Google quickly worked and fixed the issue while the service continued to receive lukewarm response from Gmail users. Post that, numerous changes have been implemented in the service but a class action law suit was already filed against Buzz.  

Seven different individuals have filed law suits against Google Buzz for privacy violations since the free social network was launched back in February. Now, as per the recent settlement filing posted online (PDF), Google will pay seven plaintiffs not more than $2500 and 30 percent of the settlement money would go to the lawyers as covering fees. The remaining amount would be put in to a fund for organizations that are focused on Internet privacy issues and education.

Mike Yang, Associate General Counsel, in a blog post on the official Google Blog talked about the new simplified and refined privacy policies of Google. So now, if you agree to Google's Terms and Condition pertaining to any new or upcoming servise, you will permit Google to collect your data.

Honestly, hardly 2-5 percent of users who sign up for new services read the Privacy Policies thoroughly. Whatever maybe the case, Google did goof-up on privacy grounds and paid a hefty price.
result.

An attorney says Ford Motor Co. has settled a Mississippi lawsuit over damages sought from a 2001 rollover crash that killed a New York Mets prospect in the Florida Panhandle.

Tab Turner, an attorney for the family of Brian Cole, told The Associated Press the settlement Thursday came after the jury in Jasper County awarded $131 million in actual damages to the family and before it was to consider possible punitive damages.

Turner said the settlement amount and terms were confidential.

A Ford spokeswoman blamed speeding and reckless driving for the accident.

Cole died from injuries he suffered when his Ford Explorer overturned as he drove home on March 31, 2001, from spring training in Port St. Lucie, Fla., to Meridian, Miss.