A judge has approved a 33 per cent group costs order in a class action against Sportsbet, saying the relatively high rate was justified by the risks of running the “relatively novel case”, which seeks repayment of gambling losses stemming from allegedly unlawful services.
Testing lab ALS Limited has partially lost its bid to shield a forensic investigation by McGrathNicol in relation to claims of exaggerated coal testing results, with a judge finding it sought to use the findings to dissuade regulators and others from bringing claims.
Maurice Blackburn is seeking a 33 per cent cut of any settlement in a class action against Sportsbet, arguing that law firms “doing well” for themselves by running class actions is an inherent feature of the contingency fee scheme.
A Sydney lawyer who sent profanity-laden emails to a Mills Oakley partner during a dispute with the Salvation Army and his mother-in-law over payment of a refundable deposit has been struck off the roll.
A defunct sand importer has told a court that it was “strung along” by the Port of Authority of NSW over an agreement to build a multi-user facility in Glebe Island, alleging the government-owned corporation is liable for $300 million in damages for unconscionable conduct.
A judge has held off on orders requiring Maurice Blackburn to turn over financial information to Sportsbet in a class action over unlawful in-play betting, saying the parties should first confer on the issue of security for costs.
The judge hearing the ACCC’s price-fixing case against Downer EDI’s Spotless and Ventia has proposed an initial hearing to determine if the companies are in competition, saying he won’t let the case become “totally unwieldy”.
Coal producer TerraCom has been joined to a lawsuit brought by Korean Midland Power against a unit testing lab ALS Limited over allegedly exaggerated coal testing results.
ASIC has asked a court to hit Westpac with a $30 million penalty for IT failures which caused financial hardship applications to be ignored, conduct a judge has described as “shocking” and “truly scandalous”.
In the ACCC’s price-fixing case, infrastructure services company Ventia has joined with Spotless in arguing the companies were not in competition, and says it was the Department of Defence that arranged for the providers to talk.