Cindy Cameronne

Lawyers are allowed to take a cut from a class action settlement or judgment under a so-called solicitors’ common fund order, the Full Federal Court has ruled, saying they are a permissive use of the court’s power.

The Federal Court is set to become a more attractive forum for class actions now that the Full Court has confirmed it has power to make orders granting solicitors a contingency fee from any settlement or judgment in a group proceeding.

A Greens senator has called for reducing a proposed immunity from climate disclosure litigation from three years to one after lawyers, including the NSW Bar Association, blasted the moratorium. But some law firms say the immunity doesn’t go far enough and should shield companies and their officers from continuous disclosure-related claims.

The ACCC has accepted undertakings from Telstra and Optus not to renew agreements requiring them to pre-install Google apps on Android devices as part of its competition probe into Google.

Bonza creditors voted Tuesday to wind up the budget airline after its administrators at Hall Chadwick ran an “extensive sales campaign” but received no offers to purchase the collapsed airline.

The lead applicants are seeking to drop a class action against the Northern Territory government over its alleged failure to properly fund essential health services and interpreting services in remote Indigenous communities.

The former chief executive officer of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency has won her case alleging she was unfairly dismissed after complaining about the CFO, with a judge finding there was “extreme” unfairness in the decision to terminate.

The Australian Energy Regulator has filed proceedings against several units of Origin Energy, after they admitted to breaching life support obligations for 5,000 customers over three years, including deregistering or disconnecting premises where someone was receiving life support. 

Law firm HWL Ebsworth is facing a representative complaint filed with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner over a 2023 cyber attack, which allegedly compromised the data of 65 government agencies and affected NDIS participants. 

A class action on behalf of Axsesstoday bondholders has reached a settlement with accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers, with a court hearing that group members will get almost 50 per cent of the proceeds.