Avant Insurance has launched an appeal of a Federal Court judgment ordering it to cover the defence costs of a surgeon facing a class action by breast implant patients of defunct clinic the Cosmetic Institute.
Financial services giant Willis Towers Watson ordered a former executive to lie to clients on his way out of the organisation and imposed an “unreasonable” two-year employment restraint, a NSW Supreme Court has found.
The managing partner of HWL Ebsworth, who has been targeted in a lawsuit by a former equity partner over the law firm’s aborted IPO, is resisting efforts to be named as representative defendant in the case.
A former client is seeking damages of up to $130 million from HWL Ebsworth in a lawsuit accusing the law firm of giving negligent advice on a joint venture to develop land.
A court has ordered Avant Insurance to supply certain documents to a plastic surgeon seeking coverage for legal costs of defending a class action against The Cosmetic Institute over allegedly “incompetent” breast augmentation surgery.
IOOF subsidiary Australian Executor Trustees failed to drag law firm Sparke Helmore into a case after it was hit with a $76.6 million judgment over breaches of duty in the sale of a 42,000 hectare timber plantation by collapsed forestry giant Gunns Group.
HWL Ebsworth has successfully defended a negligence lawsuit over the $25.5 million sale of Crown-owned Sydney land to property developer PPK Group, with a court finding that the developer was actually “better off” because of the transaction.
Sustainable technology company Papyrus Australia has reached a settlement with its former CEO in a defamation case that alleged the omission of his name in the company’s 2018 annual report was akin to calling him a liar.
Restrictions to combat COVID-19 that forced Australia’s courts to go virtual have had unforseen benefits, and Australia’s top law firms say they don’t want online hearings to be scrapped when social distancing measures are eased.
The Federal Court’s, albeit not total, approval of common fund orders, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the likely approval of contingency fees in Victoria mean that, more than ever, litigation funders and plaintiff law firms will be on the lookout for class actions, says Alex Haslam of Gilchrist Connell.