Barristers

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.

The developer of a luxury apartment complex in Sydney's CBD has fended off a stay application in a spat with the owners corporation, with a judge finding that it was not precluded from resolving their dispute through the courts.

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 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.

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.

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. 

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. 

Pointing to a pattern of non-compliance with his orders, a judge hearing a shareholder class action over the collapse of mining company Cudeco has expressed concerns about “significant" delays in the case.

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. 

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.