A record number of class actions were filed in the past year but shareholder class actions, which have been the primary target of the federal government’s attack on the class action regime, have decreased in significance, says Professor Vince Morabito.
The lead counsel in class actions against AMP and Vocation and a silk who worked on the landmark Black Saturday bushfire class actions are the latest judicial appointees to the Victoria Supreme Court, boosting the class action chops of the court’s bench.
Virgin Australia has defeated a lawsuit brought by two passengers who were served water which allegedly contained perfume, with a judge finding that their subsequent medical issues were not caused by the “tainted” water.
Lawyers welcomed the government’s “overdue” announcement of a so-called patent box that will slash the tax rate on income derived from patented drug and biotech inventions developed in Australia, but called on the government to apply the regime to other sectors.
US-based firm Jones Day has snagged one of Perth’s top energy litigators from rival Quinn Emanuel to bolster its global disputes team.
Victoria’s attorney-general has appointed star senior counsel for the banking royal commission, Rowena Orr QC, as the state’s highest legal adviser.
Ashurst has snagged a leading property investment and development lawyer who advised on $1.5 billion in projects in the Melbourne Docklands from rival DLA Piper to join its projects and real estate team.
A judge has imposed a $1.9 million penalty against Megasave Couriers after the delivery company was found to have misled franchisees with false promises of guaranteed minimum weekly payments and annual income.
As the no win, no fee model comes out on top in another high profile class action beauty contest, legal experts say third-party litigation funders will need to evolve and “fight back” to stay competitive.
The publisher of the Australian Financial Review has settled a defamation lawsuit by iSignthis CEO John Karantzis over an article by Rear Window columnist Joe Aston that allegedly falsely linked him to a money laundering scheme.