1. The defendants were the Commonwealth Government and two security companies.
2. The lead plaintiff was Kamasaee, a man held on Manus Island.
3. Kamasaee represented 1383 people who had been detained on Manus Island.
4. The two main allegations were that the plaintiff had been held in conditions that did not meet Australian standards for detention; and that the detention amounted to false imprisonment.
5. The claim had been going for 33 months before the settlement was approved by the Court.
6. The settlement agreement required the defendants to pay damages of over $70 million, plus costs. The agreement stipulated that the Government denied liability.
7. One advantage is that the group members are all refugees and asylum seekers, and have less money and legal experience than the Government. They would be outmatched in individual claims, and would have less chance of being able to launch a successful complaint.
A second advantage is that group members do not need to engage in discovery. This is cumbersome, expensive and time-consuming. Instead, they are able to move on with their lives – which is especially important, since they were fleeing violence and trying to establish new homes.
A third advantage is that group members do not have to pay court costs and legal representation fees. Costs were included as part of the settlement agreement, but in principle the lead plaintiff would have been responsible for anything that the lawyers did not do pro bono.
8. One disadvantage is that group members do not instruct the lawyers for the plaintiff. Decisions may be made that they do not agree with.
A second disadvantage is that any group member who did not opt out (perhaps because they did not know the action was being heard) is barred from bringing their own action at a later time.