The COVID-19 pandemic and government social distancing restrictions were reasons to be flexible in applying and adapting the law, the judge overseeing the administration of Virgin Australia has said in exempting administrators from liability for unpaid leases and allowing Thursday’s meeting of the airlines’ creditors to be held by teleconference.
The administrators of Virgin Australia will not have to pay the troubled carrier’s aircraft and other lease payments, after a court granted them a temporary exemption from liability.
Repeated suggestions of a planned strike out application are being used as a “threat” by four AMP subsidiaries and two trustees in a consolidated class action over allegedly excessive superannuation fees, a court has heard.
A ruling Wednesday that struck down class closure orders — a device used by judges in class actions for the past two decades — has split the courts in Australia and is expected to head to the High Court.
The Copyright Tribunal has dismissed an application by media monitoring firm Isentia to lower per-clip rates payable to collecting house Copyright Agency, rejecting arguments the higher fees had led to a loss of customers.
A law firm that brought a slew of individual claims on behalf of group members in the Ethicon pelvic mesh class action should have to personally pay the costs of a series of case management hearings because they were a waste of time, a court has heard.
An appeals court has overturned a ruling ordering class closure in seven representative proceedings against car makers over defective Takata airbags, finding courts do not have the power to make class closure orders.
As the COVID-19 crisis leaves tens of thousands unemployed and charities struggling, law firms are responding by offering assistance to those in need through expanded pro bono work and community outreach programs that provide assistance to the country’s most vulnerable people.
Johnson & Johnson has appealed a ruling awarding the three lead applicants in a class action over its pelvic mesh products a combined $2.6 million in damages, after a judge found the company failed to adequately warn women of the implants’ risks.
As law firms and funders scramble to keep up with COVID-19’s impact on the legal landscape, some have gone above and beyond in creating new technological and service solutions for clients in these unprecedented times.