Westpac, Macquarie and ANZ are seeking class closure orders ahead of mediation in three class actions over flexible commissions schemes, telling a court hearing they will be “completely at sea” without a better idea of the class size.
A judge who eviscerated a prior bid by a law firm and funder to take home 60 per cent of a $5 million class action settlement with Tyro has allowed them to net half of the proceeds, questioning whether some of the costs amounted to a “complete breach” of legal professional duties.
A lawsuit by the liquidators of Sargon Capital alleges law firm King & Wood Mallesons “refused or neglected” a demand to return over $540,000 in alleged unfair preference payments and should have known the fintech was insolvent when the payments were made.
The last remaining class action against the Department of Defence over the use of alleged toxic firefighting foam at a military base in Jervis Bay has settled for $22 million, from which $5 million will be deducted for legal costs.
The High Court has declined to hear an appeal by Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel refinery over a decision ordering it pay $26.6 million for natural gas charges.
A judge from the Supreme Court of Victoria has been selected to lead the successor to the troubled Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which will be abolished following allegations the former government appointed political allies with no expertise.
CSIRO has won its bid to access samples of a wheat grain product with increased fibre, as it contemplates a possible patent infringement lawsuit against a South Australian food company.
Real estate investment trust NorthWest can amend its pleadings in a lawsuit alleging one of the country’s largest unlisted healthcare property funds conspired to prevent it from acquiring a controlling stake, but has come up short in its bid to add to its claims against property giant Dexus.
A sacked Greenwoods & Herbert Smith Freehills partner seeking $13 million in compensation from his former firm and Lendlease has been criticised for claiming that whistleblower protections introduced in 2019 “wouldn’t make sense” if they did not apply retroactively.
A judge has approved a $5 million class action settlement against payment processor Tyro over a service outage but has shredded the proposed funder payout and legal fees that would have comprised 60 per cent of the sum, calling the costs “outrageous”.