A judge has signed off on a $18.5 million settlement in a six-year-old shareholder class action against Deloitte over its audits of collapsed construction group Hastie, saying the amount might be “disappointing” to group members but reflected the risks of going to trial.
Television presenter Lisa Wilkinson has reportedly taken Network Ten to court, arguing her employer has reneged on a promise to cover her costs in defending defamation proceedings by former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.
Qantas has dropped its bid to acquire Brisbane-based regional airline Alliance Aviation Services, saying a court battle with the competition regulator would be complex and costly.
Two cosmetic surgeons have filed defamation suits seeking aggravated damages over coverage by the ABC and Fairfax that allegedly painted them as “outlaw surgeons” who mutilated a patient and exploited the Medicare system.
A judge has awarded ex-commando Heston Russell $390,000 in damages over coverage of alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, in the first ever post-trial judgment in a defamation case to consider the public interest defence.
A self-represented applicant is challenging the permanent stay of his competition class action against Google and Meta over the digital companies’ decision to ban cryptocurrency ads.
A top orthopaedic surgeon who is suing Nine for defamation has accused the outlet of contempt of court by publishing unadmitted evidence about his reputation, claiming the stories were “improper, unjust and lacking in bona fides”.
The Full Federal Court’s finding that the High Court did not extinguish the power of judges to make common fund orders on approval of class action settlements is the latest milestone in the evolution of Australian class action jurisprudence, experts say.
A second law firm is likely to throw its hat in the ring to run a competing class action against Qantas over flight cancellations in the COVID-19 pandemic, but a judge has made orders trying to side-step a carriage fight, criticising them as “wasteful and expensive”.
With bated breath class action litigators and funders have waited for this day, when the Full Federal Court decides the question of power to make common fund orders at settlement. They aren’t the final arbiters, but the judges’ ruling may be no less important for that.