A solicitor and a Sydney silk have been cleared of allegations they gave negligent advice in an action against a law firm, with a judge finding the barrister was “diligent, thorough, careful and ethical”.
An appeals court has dismissed a challenge in a lengthy legal drama between the children of one of Australia’s richest families, finding that a lawsuit over $200 million in Lendlease purchase options was not brought in good faith.
Insurer Bond & Credit Company has lost its appeal of a decision ordering it to indemnify an Australian non-bank lender that provided $8 million in trade finance to companies in Phoenix Group shortly before its collapse.
From the ongoing saga of the high-profile Christian Porter action against the ABC to “backyard” litigation testing the serious harm bar, defamation cases made headlines in 2022, with winners and losers alike shelling out millions to lawyers to protect their reputations.
Former Attorney-General Christian Porter has lost his challenge to a ruling that barred silk Sue Chrysanthou from representing him in his now-settled defamation lawsuit against the ABC over its coverage of historical rape allegations.
Former attorney-general Christian Porter has told the Full Court that silk Sue Chrysanthou had to act for him in his defamation action against the ABC over an article airing historical rape allegations, saying she could not refuse the brief simply because a friend of his rape accuser “wishes him ill”.
The New South Wales Bar Association has lost an appeal seeking a financial penalty and a professional reprimand against a Sydney barrister for his “poorly judged, vulgar and inappropriate” behaviour, with an appeals court finding damage to his reputation and a hike in his insurance premium dwarfed any punishment it could dole out.
Law firm Maddocks has been ordered to pay more than $1.4 million in indemnity costs for “throwing good money after bad” in failing to consider a settlement offer in a negligence lawsuit over a client’s botched deal with Woolworths.
Accounting giant Deloitte has lost its bid to throw out a former client’s lawsuit alleging negligence and fraud over a failed interposition under tax law that occurred more than 16 years ago.
A national law firm has been found liable to pay $13 million in damages for giving negligent advice to a former client that led to a botched sale of its business to Woolworths and caused it to go into administration.