A property developer suing law firm Sparke Helmore in a $1 million negligence suit has resisted a bid for $215,000 in security for costs made weeks ahead of a four-day hearing in the matter, calling the sum “excessive”.
ASIC has agreed to provide Westpac with the transcript of a compulsory examination of one of its traders in court proceedings accusing the bank of insider trading in relation to the $16 billion privatisation of electricity provider Ausgrid.
Sydney retail personality Con Constantine has lost an appeal seeking to bolster a $4.25 million judgment in his favour over the $81.8 million Parklea Markets sale in 2016.
A Federal Court judge has criticised the liquidators of coal mining company Delta for waiting over two years to file insolvent trading proceedings against former directors when the same issues of solvency had already been raised in two other cases.
Sparke Helmore has secured a temporary reprieve in a $1 million negligence lawsuit against it, with a NSW Supreme Court judge staying the case for two weeks to allow the plaintiff property developer, which has been described as a “rudderless” firm, to get its house in order.
A judge has vacated next year’s trial in ASIC’s insider trading case against Westpac despite “misgivings”, and has made orders regarding confidential evidence after the Australian financial watchdog argued that handing the material to the bank could damage its relationship with its Hong Kong counterpart.
A judge has signed off on a settlement in two shareholder class actions against clothing retailer Surfstitch, but has capped the legal costs and commissions sought by the litigation funders after finding the law firms behind the cases sent out notices to group members that were “misleading” and “understated” the risks of joining the class.
Payouts in class actions in 2020 largely kept pace with the previous year despite the financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, with companies and other defendants paying more than $696 million to settle class actions last year.
The judge overseeing three class actions against the Commonwealth over its use of allegedly toxic firefighting foam, which have settled for $212.5 million, said backing by a litigation funder led to a better outcome for group members, who would otherwise have been in the disadvantaged position of “supplicants requesting compensation”.
A judge has given his blessing to a landmark $212.5 million settlement of three class actions over the use of allegedly toxic firefighting foam at government military bases despite a “large number” of objections.