Equitable contribution by Western Power, Ventia and a property owner found jointly liable for the same loss resulting from the Parkerville bushfire in WA must be mathematically equal regardless of how the liability was apportioned, a judge has found.
She earned the nickname ‘Shock and Orr’ as senior counsel assisting the banking royal commission, but the Victoria Court of Appeal’s newest judge told those gathered to welcome her to the bench on Tuesday that she thought twice before accepting the daunting assignment.
Former BitConnect national promoter John Louis Bigatton has pleaded guilty over his role in marketing the online cryptocurrency platform, a global Ponzi scheme that reached a market capitalisation of $5 billion before its collapse.
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, lawyers have said in attacking a report to Parliament that recommends abolishing amendments adding a fault element to the continuous disclosure regime for ASIC cases but requiring shareholders to clear the higher bar in class actions.
A judge has given the green light to amendments to a $100 million class action against NAB over the collapse of Walton Construction, which include new claims of equitable fraud and knowing involvement in misleading and deceptive conduct.
The Morrison-era reforms that introduced a fault element to the continuous disclosure laws should be repealed for civil penalty proceedings launched by ASIC, but retained for class actions by shareholders, a report of an independent review of the changes has recommended.
A barrister who had a “close personal relationship” with a judge presiding over her case has been suspended and fined $10,000, after the High Court ruled their communications gave rise to the appearance of bias and justified recusal.
The Supreme Court of Victoria has issued ground rules for deploying artificial intelligence in litigation, urging litigants to exercise “particular caution” when using ChatGPT and other generative AI tools to draft affidavits and witness statements.
Sky News has taken its fight with Isentia to the Full Federal Court, after a judge found the the media monitor was not liable for copyright infringement despite the “wholesale copying” of content distributed to government clients.
Australia’s peak legal body has welcomed the injection of funds promised in Tuesday’s budget announcement for the appointment of extra federal judges to clear a backlog in migration and protection visa applications. But the funds allocated to legal assistance services is a “fraction” of what is needed, the Law Council said.