Last year brought economic growth and success for law firms, but 2021 was not only marked with good news. A slew of law firms were dragged into litigation by disgruntled ex-clients, with some paying out millions of dollars to resolve lawsuits accusing them of giving bad advice.
Liberty Mutual Insurance does not have to indemnify dam operator Sunwater for its share of a $440 million settlement of the Queensland floods class action, the NSW Supreme Court has found.
The federal government is facing a class action over alleged biosecurity breaches that led to the 2016 outbreak of white spot disease in South-East Queensland, which decimated the region’s commercial prawn industry.
Clyde & Co made an “inextricable” oversight in preparing an unpaid works claim, causing a Sydney-based sandstone excavator to lose millions of dollars, according to a cross claim in a case brought by the law firm for unpaid fees.
Three law firms and a consultancy are fighting a bid by defunct financial advisor Dover Financial to bring negligence claims against two lawyers over a so-called client protection policy found to be “an exercise in Orwellian doublespeak”.
Two law firms accused of providing negligent advice to Dover Financial over a so-called client protection policy found to be “highly misleading” have argued the defunct financial advisor should not be able to recover the $1.2 million penalty it was ordered to pay.
Insurers have largely succeeded in challenging COVID-19 business interruption losses claimed by a group of small businesses, in an important second test case that could save the industry billions of dollars.
Carnival has launched a challenge to last month’s court finding that overseas passengers could remain group members in a class action over the 2020 Ruby Princess COVID-19 outbreak.
Insurers are misleading policyholders about class actions which seek compensation for those denied business interruption coverage for COVID-related shutdowns, a court has heard.
While a first test case in NSW rejected insurers’ interpretation of infectious disease exclusions in COVID-19 business interruption policies, potentially putting the industry on the hook for billions of dollars in claims, QBE says the law is on its side in Victoria.