Billabong to pay $45m to settle class action, page-46

So...it turns out Alex was right: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...t/news-story/a7b01ac860ce5c5eb4c66db2e8899c1b

There's a paywall so here's the text for ease of reference:

"Embattled listed law firm Slater & Gordon says it won’t get a cash injection from a shareholder class action against surfwear company Billabong, settled yesterday for $45m.
Slater & Gordon principal lawyer Tim Finney said litigation funder CLF paid the firm’s fees as the case proceeded, rather than in a lump sum at the end.
The settlement comes as rival firm Maurice Blackburn mulls a shareholder class action against Slater & Gordon over its disastrous $1.3bn acquisition of a division of failed British company Quindell in April last year.
Slater & Gordon filed the Billabong lawsuit in March last year over the clothing company’s August 2011 forecast of strong earnings growth in the year ahead.
However, the optimistic outlook lasted only until mid-December, when Billabong admitted sales were much worse than expected, sending the company’s share price plunging by more than 50 per cent.
The case was due to go to trial before Federal Court judge Bernard Murphy in March next year.
Because the deal is confidential until approved by Justice Murphy, Mr Finney declined to say how much of the proceeds would flow to litigation funder CLF, where former Slater & Gordon boss Peter Gordon is a director.
However, he said it was less than 40 per cent.
“CLF’s commission rates are very competitive,” he said. “They charge it as a percentage after legal costs have been paid.
“The higher the legal costs, the smaller the commission is as a proportion of the overall settlement.
“They have an interest in minimising legal costs, and so do members.”
Slater & Gordon’s costs were also “at the low end”, he added.
“Partly that reflects that we’ve been able to secure a settlement that’s a few months before trial,” he said. “The closer you get to trial — that really tends to drive up legal costs substantially.”
He said there were both large institutions and retail shareholders among approximately 700 investors who signed up to the class action.
The $45m settlement was a “really good outcome relative to where settlements tend to land”, he said.
Billabong told the ASX the settlement would have “no material financial impact”.
“Any financial impact of this agreement on the company was not material and has already been paid and provided in previous financial reports,” it said.
Mr Finney said that, if Justice Murphy approved the deal, Slater & Gordon hoped to pay class action members before Christmas.
“There’s obviously been a lot of media about some settlements that take a really long time, and shareholder class actions really shouldn’t be in that category,” he said.
Billabong shares closed down 2.65 per cent at $1.28."