Victoria will continue to be a magnet for class actions after the High Court shot down solicitors’ common fund orders as clashing with NSW law, but the door may still be open for garden state lawyers to try their luck in the Federal Court.
The High Court has unanimously found the Federal Court has no power to allow solicitors to take a cut of a settlement or judgment in a shareholder class action against Blue Sky, saying it would be contrary to rules against contingency fees in NSW.
A judge has spiked Piper Alderman’s class action alleging Google abuses its dominance in digital advertising, favouring a competing case run jointly by two other firms, despite suggesting such arrangements hinted at lawyers “passing the prize around”.
An Aboriginal group joined to Regis Resources’ challenge to a decision concerning its McPhillamys gold mine has won an order capping its costs at $20,000, with a judge rejecting the gold producer’s argument the order was unnecessary.
Craft brewer Better Beer has lost a challenge to rival TRADIE’s bid to register a trade mark for the promotional phrase ‘TRADIE Beer Built Better’, with IP Australia finding no real danger of confusion between the brands.
A barrister who claimed a conviction for contempt had “slipped his mind” has lost an appeal of a decision finding he was not a fit and proper person to hold a practicing certificate.
The NSW tax office has succeeded on appeal in its fight with Uber over five years of payroll tax totalling more than $81 million, with an appeals court finding that payments made to drivers are taxable.
A judge has refused to force the sale of a Footscray property used for logistics services, estimated to be worth $23 million, saying an agreement by the co-owners to sell it by a deadline could no longer be performed.
The operator of a gym previously inside a Bankstown RSL club has scored a partial win on appeal against its new landlord, but has only received nominal damages of $10.
An appeals court has thrown out X Corp’s legal challenge to a compliance notice issued by the eSafety Commissioner to corporate predecessor Twitter over child exploitation material monitoring on its platform.