A judge hearing a $2 million dispute between a former tenured professor and the University of New South Wales has lamented the lengthy pleadings filed in Fair Work cases, saying “everything but the kitchen sink seems to be thrown in, without any discrimination”.
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.
The NSW Court of Appeal has refused to grant Bianca Rinehart leave to appeal a decision staying a lawsuit against her mother Gina Rinehart over ownership of a $4 billion family trust.
Supermarket giant Woolworths has denied the Fair Work Ombudsman is entitled to seek compensation for its underpayment of staff, saying its $330 million remediation to affected employees fully answers the regulator’s case.
The owners and operators of five Melbourne theatres have filed legal action against Ansvar Insurance seeking more than $20 million in business interruption cover for losses stemming from closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Truck company Isuzu has asked a court to shut down an $18 million lawsuit by Directed Electronics alleging copyright infringement, arguing that its own cross-claims –which substantially overlap with allegations in a 2017 case that went to trial — made it an abuse of process.
Chinese lender Aoyin must pay PricewaterhouseCoopers’ legal costs for a vacated trial after Aoyin’s eleventh hour decision to join Baker McKenzie to a $10 million cross-claim in a dispute concerning the accounting firm’s advice on its failed bid to launch the first Chinese incorporated bank in Australia.
Insurance giant Lloyd’s has rejected what it calls an “incomprehensible” class action pleading by Australian businesses that argue its business interruption policies should have indemnified them for losses stemming from COVID-19 lockdowns.
Software company DST Bluedoor is fighting to access communications between its former founding director and AMP in a $35.5 million legal stoush alleging the financial services firm induced 11 employees to jump ship after licensing its online platform.
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.