A Sydney auto company suing HWL Ebsworth over allegedly negligent advice provided in relation to property in Paramatta’s ‘Auto Alley’ has slammed the law firm’s plea of contributory negligence against its holidaying director.
A court has issued an injunction forcing the discontinuance of a negligence suit against accounting firm Pitcher Partners by the former owner of Zap Fitness, a case found to be barred by the terms of a settlement.
Three years on from their debut, group costs orders — which entitle law firms to a percentage of any recovery in class actions — have raised a host of novel issues that are keeping lawyers and the court busy.
A judge overseeing a class action accusing Virgin Australia of failing to disclose its true financial position in a $324 million capital raising prospectus has joined a dozen insurers to the proceeding, which he said had “regrettably languished”.
ABC and Network Ten have dropped their fight in a defamation case by former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann over missing CCTV footage from the night of Brittany Higgins’ alleged rape, after learning the footage was automatically overridden.
A junior doctor representing thousands of medical officers in NSW has thwarted an application by the state to declass her group proceeding, with a judge saying a “single determination” of the issues common to all group members was the most efficient way of resolving them.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has won its “highly unusual” application to reinstate its defence in a defamation case by ex-commando Heston Russell, after dropping it earlier this week in a bid to protect a source’s identity.
A court has approved a $26 million settlement in the long-running class action against cruise operator Scenic Tours, with $7 million earmarked for litigation funder Legal Justice.
SkyCity may be the first company to test the strength of AUSTRAC’s claims in court, according to a judge who recently said in a separate case that the regulator’s habit of agreeing to penalties could give rise to a “moral hazard”.
Wealth manager Colonial First State Investments has agreed to pay $100 million to resolve a consumer class action alleging it charged excessive fees on superannuation accounts, in one of the biggest class action settlements of the year so far.