A trailblazing country lawyer who took out seven overdraft extensions to self-fund a landmark $100 million case in the early years of the federal class action regime has stepped back into the ring to run a new case on behalf of dozens of Australian farmers.
Westpac has defeated a responsible lending case brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in relation to almost 262,000 home loans, with the Federal Court finding the corporate regulator misinterpreted the operation of national lending laws.
National car repair franchise Ultra Tune has argued in a Full Federal Court appeal that a $1.07 million penalty in an ACCC case was “manifestly excessive” because it was based on unintentional breaches of the Franchising Code of Conduct that were caused by tardy accountants and auditors.
A judge has refused to join the insurer of collapsed Sydney builder Reed Constructions to insolvent trading proceedings brought by the company’s liquidators, after finding it was unreasonable to expect the insurance company to irrevocably confirm coverage.
ASIC has abandoned its market manipulation case against National Australia Bank contractor Whitebox Trading, just over a month after the financial regulator decided to appeal the Federal Court’s primary decision to throw out their case.
An appeal judge has stayed a $170,000 judgment against the head of a New South Wales law firm after he was found to have engaged in a “particularly sinister” campaign of sexual harassment against a former employee, despite concerns that some of his appeal grounds were “barely arguable”.
The plaintiffs in an investor class action brought against the insurers of Dick Smith have lost an early bid to determine the viability of their claim, amid concerns that the total value of five separate cases against the failed retailer will exhaust the $300 million limit of two insurance policies.
A shareholder class action against CIMIC Group will fight a strike out application it has slammed as an “opportunistic” late-stage move by the global engineering firm made only because the trial was previously vacated.
Ink cartridge reseller Calidad has been ordered to show evidence of its finances in support of its application to stay a Full Court judgment while it waits for the outcome of its special leave application to the High Court in a landmark patent infringement dispute with printer giant Seiko Epson.
The parties in two shareholder class actions brought against online fashion retailer Surfstitch will make one “last, final attempt” to resolve the proceedings in mediation after a proposed settlement was thwarted by a judge last year, a court heard Friday.