Despite a judge’s complaint that class action costs are generally “out of control”, the law firm that secured a $192.5 million settlement and earned about $25 million in fees in the Montara oil spill case has won approval for more fees — these ones incurred in a hearing to determine how the settlement spoils should be divided.
Dairy processor Lactalis Australia has been hit with a $950,000 penalty in the first proceedings against a company for breaches of the Dairy Code.
An appeals court has dismissed the appeal of Daniel Taylor, son of notorious former Kings Cross nightclub owner John Ibrahim, seeking to revive defamation claims over a 2019 article in The Sunday Telegraph which he claimed suggested he was a mobster.
Shine Lawyers’ bid to recoup “exorbitant” interest on a loan it took out to run pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson has raised new ethical dilemmas beyond the usual “sweaty palms and huge vexation” in most group proceedings, a judge has said.
Uber and the applicants in class actions against the car service will head into mediation later this year, and only group members who sign up to join the cases will get a chance to share in the proceeds of any settlement that results from the talks.
The competition regulator has delayed its final decision on whether to approve ANZ’s $4.9 billion acquisition of Queensland-based Suncorp, after expressing worries the tie-up could stifle the growth of smaller banks.
A judge has ordered the owner of vitamin brand Life Botanics to refrain from “vilifying, denigrating, disparaging or mocking” rival JSHealth, owned by influencer Jessica Sepel.
A judge has hit former Network Ten political editor Peter van Onselen with costs, after finding he breached a non-disparagement clause in an agreement with the broadcaster by criticising his old employer in an article written for The Australian.
Piper Alderman has strengthened its real estate team, appointing a former Holding Redlich partner to its Brisbane office.
The NSW government has been hit with a class action by Sydney Trains operations staff alleging a “systemic pattern” of underpayment and overwork.