Judges

Rival law firms Maurice Blackburn and Phi Finney McDonald will be allowed to work together without consolidating their separate shareholder class actions against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, after a judge ruled that the bank had overstated the potential for extra costs and delays.

A Queensland couple has filed a product liability claim against Samsung seeking almost half a million dollars in damages, after their washing machine allegedly exploded and sparked a fire that burnt their house to the ground.

The Federal Court has granted auto giant Ford's request for the costs of an anti-suit injunction it sought in the PowerShift transmission class action that was ultimately unnecessary after the class was denied its bid to access discovery from similar proceedings in the United States.

The Queensland government has agreed to pay $190 million to resolve an historic class action on behalf of 10,000 Indigenous workers for unpaid wages spanning over 30 years.

Sherwood Chemicals wants to exterminate claims alleging it infringed two patents held by US chemical giant BASF for an underground termite control system, saying the patents were invalid and that any infringement, if it occurred, was innocent.

The Full Federal Court has ordered a retrial in a landmark Fair Work Ombudsman case that saw the owner of a Cairns tour company sentenced to 12 months' jail, criticizing the sentencing judge for being "sarcastic, disparaging and dismissive" of the tour operator's evidence.

German-based cladding manufacturer 3A Composites has foreshadowed potential cross claims against third party engineers and certifiers in one of two class actions brought over allegedly dangerous combustible cladding used in countless buildings across Australia.

Allianz and a number of other insurers of Dick Smith are now facing a class action over the extent of coverage under an insurance policy for the collapsed electronics retailer's initial public offering.

Frank Wilson, solicitor and founder of failed sandalwood producer Quintis, has been ordered by a court to repay a $13.3 million loan used to invest in a 215 hectare Indian sandalwood plantation.

Noting the "significant and beneficial reduction" in recent funding rates, the judge overseeing a shareholder class action against recycling company Sims Metal Management has signed off on an order capping the commission of the funders at 25 per cent of any net proceeds and setting a minimum 50 per cent of any recovery for group members.