Justice David Hammerschlag of the NSW Supreme Court has a way with words that readily lends itself to dramatic courtroom headlines. The “Hammer,” as he is known, also pulls no punches and is quick with one liners that keep counsel on their toes. Here, Lawyerly looks at some of the recent best moments inside courtroom 7D.
Crown Resorts has settled its feud with the Australian Taxation Office over a $396 million tax bill stemming from the acquisition of Las Vegas-based Cannery Casino Resorts as part of the company’s failed North American expansion.
AMP, Asteron and Westpac have been singled out by ASIC for having higher than expected decline rates for total and permanent disability life insurance claims, in a new review by the corporate watchdog that also revealed a “concerningly high” 60 per cent rejection rate for some narrowly defined policies.
Commonwealth Bank subsidiary Colonial First State and former director Linda Elkins face a class action alleging the wealth management group breached its superannuation trustee duties by failing to promptly transfer $3.2 billion of default members’ funds to a lower-cost, high-performing MySuper product.
Kmart has defeated claims by a streetwear company that the retail giant infringed the copyright for its cargo pants and shorts designs.
A judge has ordered all proceedings against Dick Smith to be heard concurrently during a marathon three month trial, after the plaintiffs in a shareholder class action brought against the failed electronics retailer’s insurers aborted a fleeting bid to temporarily discontinue their case.
Corrs Chambers Westgarth has been retained by the AMP Financial Planners Association to weigh a possible class action against the wealth manager over its plan to cut the number of authorised advisers and retreat from a promise to buy back their businesses at a set multiple.
ANZ has rejected allegations by the financial regulator that $35 million in fees charged to customers for periodical payments between accounts was unlawful, saying the regulator’s case extended the scope of false and misleading representation claims.
Two petitioners challenging the election of Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and embattled Liberal MP Gladys Liu have subpoenaed the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Sky News for interview footage in front of the Chinese language posters at the heart of the dispute.
Two former Dick Smith directors targeted by dual class actions have expanded their case against Deloitte over the retailer’s 2016 collapse, saying if the company was found liable for shareholder losses then the auditor should be blamed for its shoddy work on the company’s financial statements during its float three years earlier.