Barristers

A former Holden dealer has lost a $9 million suit alleging General Motors misleadingly represented that it was “100% committed” to the line a few years before it decided to discontinue the brand. 

Builder Leda Constructions has lost its bid for injunctions that would prevent the principal in a $4 million building contract from calling on two bank guarantees worth $101,553 each. 

The owners corporation for an apartment complex in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda has lost its adverse possession claim over a tennis court mostly located on adjoining land, with a judge finding their use of the property was subject to a lease. 

A bid by the Victorian Liberal Party to summarily toss a challenge to a $1.5 million advance made to former leader John Pesutto for defence costs in a defamation suit has failed, with a court finding there is a case to be tried about the validity of the loan.

A judge has removed a liquidator from the winding up of a Victorian cabinetry business, finding he failed to act honestly by settling unfair preference claims with tax agencies without disclosing key information. 

A judge has ordered the lead applicant in a failed class action against Queensland utilities Stanwell and CS Energy, which was slated to be worth $1 billion, to pay $32.4 million in costs.

A court has found that two of the three heirs to the owners of property investor Kurtz Group can continue to use the services of Arnold Bloch Leibler, finding no risk of conflict. 

Class action settlements hit major milestones last year, with the year’s largest settlements totalling $1.6 billion and one case resolving for a historic $548.5 million.

A judge has refused to set aside a deed of company arrangement passed by creditors of construction company Mercon, finding that the owners corporation of a 33-unit development has not proved the value of its $4.2 million claim. 

Binance has agreed to a $10 million penalty in ASIC’s case alleging the defunct crypto firm misclassified retail customers as eligible to invest in risky derivatives, but a judge wants more details before approving the deal.