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A judge’s guide to winning the class action settlement administration gig
A former top judge appointed to decide the first-ever contest to administer a class action settlement has set out his criteria for making the choice, and has warned that giving the firm running a case a monopoly right to dole out the proceeds could lead to higher costs for group members and poorer settlement outcomes.
ANZ cops $15M penalty in ASIC case over cash advance fees
A judge has ordered ANZ to pay a $15 million agreed penalty in a case over more than $10 million in cash advance fees charged to the credit card accounts of hundreds of thousands of customers.
Grocon can’t shield legal advice over Barangaroo sight lines
Grocon has taken a hit in its $270 million lawsuit against Infrastructure NSW over a stalled $2 billion Central Barangaroo development project, with a judge finding the developer’s CEO waived privilege over legal advice it received on the sight line rights of Lendlease and Crown.
ABC can’t duck entrepreneur’s defamation case
A judge has expressed his preliminary view that cases brought in Queensland cannot be thrown out where the costs of the claims are disproportionate to their importance, allowing a defamation case by entrepreneur Robert McVicker against the ABC to proceed. 
Findex wins appeal in ‘tortured’ dispute with financial advisor
Wealth management firm Findex can add new claims for damages in its long-running dispute with a former financial advisor who allegedly sent disparaging emails to clients and investors and brought his own claim in trespass after the company seized documents from his residence. 
NAB ordered to pay ‘woefully insufficient’ penalty in ASIC fee case
A judge has ordered National Australia Bank to pay just one-fifth the $10 million penalty proposed by ASIC for overcharging customer fees, taking aim at the regulator's concise pleading and saying the maximum penalty he could order was “woefully inadequate”.
Judge approves $6.88M CFO in $25M Fonterra class action settlement
A judge has approved a common fund order awarding $6.88 million to the funder behind a class action against Fonterra that settled for $25 million, opting not to wait for a much-anticipated appeals court ruling on the power to make CFOs at settlement.
In loss for Clayton Utz, court finds no power to undertake assessment of $1.5M bill
Clayton Utz has lost its appeal of a costs assessment in a contractual dispute for which it billed $1.46 million in legal fees, allegedly five times more than the other parties’ legal bill.
Serious harm question won’t be heard first in defamation case over ‘cyberslaves’ doco
The publishers of The Australian and Al Jazeera have failed to persuade a judge to hold a preliminary hearing on the question of whether the nephew of the former prime minister of Cambodia suffered serious harm as a result of publications he says painted him as a criminal.
Compensation for Privacy Act breaches requires class members to prove loss: judge
Victims of privacy breaches must demonstrate actual loss and damage to be eligible for compensation, according to a judge who has given asylum seekers who secured a ruling from the Privacy Commissioner a second chance at proving loss from the public disclosure of their personal information.