Events

A judge has approved a $12 million payment to the funder of two franchisee class actions against 7-Eleven, even as the funder plans to appeal a decision rejecting its bid for a common fund order for a $24.5 million commission.

The Full Federal Court has set aside a $150,000 defamation judgment for sports presenter Erin Molan and remitted the matter for a new trial, after finding a judge failed to properly consider publisher the Daily Mail's defence of contextual truth.

A judge has shaved $80,000 off the damages recently awarded to a Papua New Guinea politician who sued Fairfax Media over a series of articles published in the Australian Financial Review, after finding she wrongly discounted a mitigation defence by the publisher.

A law firm has won its second bid for a group costs order in three class actions against banks over flexible commission schemes after a judge in 2021 rejected what was then the first-ever application for a contingency fee.

A class action against KPMG and nine former Gunns Plantations directors over the failure of six managed investment schemes for eucalyptus wood in Tasmania has settled for a confidential amount, with a judge poised to approve the deal.

A decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that reproduced almost entirely verbatim and without attribution the submissions of the prevailing party as its own reasons damages the public's trust in the AAT and must be overturned, a court has ruled.

The Daily Mail has argued that Nine sports presenter Erin Molan should be stripped of a $150,000 defamation damages award because of her history of “seriously egregious conduct” on 2GB’s Continuous Call Team radio show.

A judge has indicated his willingness to approve a $25 million settlement in a class action against dairy co-op Fonterra, but deferred the question of the funder's cut until after the Full Court rules on whether the court has the power to make a common fund order at settlement.

Advanta Seeds has won an appeal upholding the dismissal of a class action by sorghum farmers over allegedly contaminated seeds, with a court finding that the seed producer’s duty of care was negated by clear disclaimers.

A Melbourne law firm is reportedly poised to file a class action against the Australian Football League, seeking compensation on behalf of former professional players who have allegedly suffered head injuries during games.