Appeals

A Queensland ethanol refinery owned by United Petroleum has appealed a judge's ruling that insurer Allianz Australia did not have to provide coverage for damage resulting from a 2016 fire.

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has largely prevailed on appeal to the High Court in its case against former directors of collapsed retirement village owner Prime Trust, including former federal health minister Michael Wooldridge. 

The director of property spruiker We Buy Houses has appealed a record $6 million for misleading property investors with claims they could learn to buy real estate for $1.

The court's authority to shut down competing class actions is no longer in doubt after Tuesday's Full Federal Court judgment in the case against GetSwift, and while there is no "silver bullet" when it comes to how judges must deal with multiple proceedings, there are key factors to weigh, the appeals court said. Here, experts provide the big takeaways from the landmark ruling.

The Full Federal Court has dismissed a challenge to a ruling that chose one of three shareholder class actions to proceed against GetSwift, saying the court had the power to permanently stay competing cases. But an injunction blocking the losing law firms from communicating with clients was going too far, it said.

A groundbreaking judgment by the Full Federal Court over competing class actions will be handed down Tuesday morning and is expected to give judges much needed guidance on how to move forward when confronted, as they increasingly are, with multiple proceedings over the same alleged misconduct.

Rebel Wilson has lost a bid to have the High Court reconsider an appeals court's decision to slash her record $4.75 million award in a defamation case against Bauer Media to $600,000.

A judge has adjourned an application by law firm Slater & Gordon for a common fund order in a class action against the Commonwealth Bank and its wealth management unit, amid two landmark challenges to the courts' powers to make such orders.

Two far-reaching appeals challenging the court's power to order all members of an open class action to pay a litigation funder will be heard together, and soon, the Federal Court's top judge said Thursday.

An appeals court has rejected the funder's commission and legal fees stemming from a $64 million settlement in litigation over the failure of Banksia Securities, but granted approval to the settlement.