A barrister and solicitor who accused the Victoria Supreme Court of bias have avoided a contempt of court ruling, despite a judge finding their conduct “fell short of the standards of competence and diligence” expected of lawyers.
The lead applicant in a class action against Bayer over its allegedly defective Essure contraceptive devices has won court approval to drop her consumer law claims against the German drug maker, with a judge agreeing that the plaintiff’s defect and negligence claims had a better chance of succeeding.
The former girlfriend of Ultra Tune founder Sean Buckley is facing a contempt charge for allegedly sending secret recordings to two individuals despite a court injunction, with a judge saying she could raise what he called a ‘Bart Simpson defence’ in denying the alleged conduct.
Staff members who worked for two Melbourne aged care providers will be removed as group members in class actions accusing the homes of negligently handling the coronavirus pandemic.
A Federal Court class action against two NAB units over $6.3 billion in super funds is on hold after lawyers for the applicant filed an appeal of a ruling that found their state court proceeding had been invalidly commenced.
Maurice Blackburn has brought a second class action against two NAB units over $6.3 billion in super funds, after the law firm’s first attempt was shut down by a state court as invalid.
Allowing former senior barrister Norman O’Bryan to reopen his defence in the Banksia class action while “avoiding the witness box” was clearly prejudicial, and futile to boot, a judge has said in his reasons for refusing the silk’s last-minute application.
Once high-flying barrister Norman O’Bryan might seek to challenge a refusal by the judge overseeing the Banksia class action to revisit his abandoned defence and accept into evidence a document he claims proved he did not secretly hold shares in the funder behind the case.
The litigation funding company controlled by the late solicitor Mark Elliott has told a court of its “remorse and regret” for its misconduct in the Banksia Securities class action, a case that has been described as the “darkest chapter in Victoria’s legal history”.
The son of Banksia class action funder Mark Elliott was no Michael Corleone of the Godfather, and was not knowingly complicit in an alleged scheme masterminded by his father to defraud group members and destroy evidence, his lawyer has told a court.