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.
A group of banks that failed to prove steel giant Arrium falsified representations on loan drawdown notices ahead of its $2.8 billion collapse have been ordered to pay indemnity costs after a court found they rejected $10 million settlement offers three days into the trial.
General Motors has lost its bid to de-class a representative proceeding brought by former Holden dealers over its decision to retire the iconic brand, with a judge rejecting the car maker’s “speculative” argument that it would be prejudiced by further lawsuits after the class action was finalised.
An appeals court has dismissed an appeal in a professional negligence lawsuit by a New South Wales developer against HWL Ebsworth over a due diligence report that led to the purchase of a $25.5 million parcel of government land at risk of flooding.
A judge has recused himself from hearing a dispute over the alleged infringement of the copyright for the disco classic ‘Love Is In the Air’ on the eve of a damages hearing.
General Motors is facing a lawsuit by a Holden car dealer who allegedly suffered up to $9.26 million in financial loss following the car maker’s decision to pull the iconic brand in Australia.
Construction company Delcon Civil is facing a lawsuit by a subcontractor seeking over $3.4 million in damages for alleged breach of contract relating to work on the North East Link project.
Accounting giant Deloitte has lost its bid to throw out a former client’s lawsuit alleging negligence and fraud over a failed interposition under tax law that occurred more than 16 years ago.
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.
Mercedes-Benz has responded to a $650 million lawsuit by Australian dealers over its decision to move to a fixed-price agency model, saying it had a “legitimate commercial interest” in making the change and denying that dealer agreements were “perpetual” in their terms.