A fight is brewing over whether US and UK passengers aboard the Ruby Princess should be part of a class action against cruise operators Carnival and Princess Cruise Lines over their handling of a deadly coronavirus outbreak on the ship that has been linked to at least 20 deaths.
COVID-19 was clearly excluded from the business interruption insurance policy taken out by The Star, and a lawsuit seeking coverage for economic loss resulting from the pandemic was “misconceived”, a group of insurers has said.
Insurers for The Star have told a court that the casino’s lawsuit, which seeks to resolve threshold policy coverage issues in a bid to claim the losses it has suffered as a result of government restrictions enacted to stop the spread of COVID-19, is incomplete.
The Insurance Council of Australia and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority have filed court proceedings that will test whether certain infectious disease exclusions in business interruption cover apply to coronavirus-related claims.
A judge has ordered that disputes arising between Transurban and a group of contractors over the discovery of toxic PFAS chemicals in the soil at the site of the multi-billion dollar West Gate Tunnel project in Melbourne be sent to arbitration.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has come up short in its challenge to a ruling that dismissed its case against TPG over contract terms that allowed the internet provider to keep customers’ unused prepaid funds on phone or internet plans.
Daily Telegraph publisher Nationwide News has failed in its appeal of a judgment that found it defamed Geoffrey Rush in articles that accused the Oscar-winning actor of sexually inappropriate behaviour, with an appeals court describing the stories as a “sensationalised tabloid crusade”.
Labour hire company WorkPac has asked the High Court to weigh in on a decision that grants entitlements to casual workers with regular shifts, a ruling it says could have a “devastating impact” on companies if allowed to stand.
A judge has rejected a bid by the CFMEU to pause a trial brought by two sacked union officials while the court gives the country’s attorneys-general a chance to intervene over constitutional arguments raised, saying the union’s barrister was wrong that the issues in the case could not be split up.
Cigno has appealed a ruling shooting down its challenge to the first action brought by ASIC under its powers to prohibit ‘predatory’ financial products, which targeted the payday lender’s model of short-term credit lending.