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Judge tosses ‘fanciful’ St. Patrick’s Day bushfire class action
Class Actions 2019-02-07 9:45 pm By Cat Fredenburgh Melbourne
A judge has dismissed a class action against Powercor over a bushfire in the Gazette area of South West Victoria on St. Patrick's Day 2018, calling the allegations "fanciful".
‘Likely’ GetSwift class action settlement should not be delayed by High Court appeal, judge says
Appeals 2019-02-07 9:36 pm By Christine Caulfield Melbourne
A judge won't defer the opt-out notice in a shareholder class action against GetSwift pending the High Court's decision on a special leave application to revive a competing class action, saying the sooner the case settles the better.
Maurice Blackburn drops investigation of Opal Tower class action
Class Actions 2019-02-06 9:48 pm By Christine Caulfield Melbourne
Maurice Blackburn has dropped its investigation of a possible class action on behalf of owners of units in Sydney's faulty Opal Tower, but Corrs Chambers Westgarth is still pursuing a potential case.
Rival law firms backpedal in deal over competing Commonwealth Bank class actions
Class Actions 2019-02-06 9:11 pm By Miklos Bolza Sydney
Law firms Maurice Blackburn and Phi Finney McDonald have stepped back from a proposed consolidation of their class actions against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and want to run their own cases again, but now with "harmonised" pleadings.
Merck Sharp & Dohme slams Wyeth vaccine patent claims as ‘hearsay and speculation’
Allens 2019-02-06 8:17 pm By Miklos Bolza Sydney
Claims by Wyeth that its patented Prevnar 13 pneumococcal vaccine was inventive because other pharmaceutical giants had failed in developing similar vaccines are based on "hearsay and speculation," Merck Sharp & Dohme told the court during closing submissions in the high-stakes trial over the world's best-selling vaccine.
Common fund orders fulfil class action promise, lawyers tell historic appeals court
Allens 2019-02-05 10:50 pm By Miklos Bolza Sydney
Common fund orders are the completion of the notion of class actions envisaged when the regime was introduced 27 years ago, a joint-sitting of two appeals courts was told on the second and last day of a landmark challenge to what has become an oft-used case management tool by trial judges.
Ethicon loses bid for class closure order in pelvic mesh case
Class Actions 2019-02-05 9:35 pm By Cat Fredenburgh Melbourne
The judge overseeing a class action against Ethicon over allegedly faulty pelvic mesh implants has shot down the device maker's bid for a class closure order.
Pitcher Partners appeals $5.6M damages award over concealed accounting error
Alastair Vincent 2019-02-05 2:16 pm By Christine Caulfield Melbourne
Accounting firm Pitcher Partners will challenge a ruling that it owes a NSW bus operator $5.6 million in damages for fraudulently concealing a costly amortisation error.
3 words doom Santos appeal over $55M BNP guarantee
Contracts 2019-02-05 12:06 am By Cat Fredenburgh Melbourne
Three words missing from a demand letter have sunken oil and gas producer Santos Limited's appeal of a loss in its dispute with French bank BNP Paribas over a $55 million bank guarantee.
Royal Commission tells ASIC it’s time to litigate
Corporate 2019-02-04 10:34 pm By Cat Fredenburgh Melbourne
Companies that run afoul of the law should brace for more courtroom battles against ASIC, after the Hayne Royal Commission urged the corporate regulator to make litigation a central pillar of  its enforcement strategy.