Judgment

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Mazda have both lost their appeals in a case over the car manufacturer’s ‘appalling’ customer service, with three judges questioning the regulator’s decisions in how it ran the case.

The law firm that ran a class action over the 2009 Montara oil spill must compete to administer a $192.5 million settlement, with a judge saying a tendering process is consistent with the court's "protective and supervisory role" in managing costs deducted from class action settlements.

Construction company Richard Crookes plans to appeal a ruling which found the Security of Payment Act is available to insolvent builders to pursue debts under a deed of company arrangement, despite an amendment to the law preventing construction companies in liquidation from enforcing payment claims.

Boston Scientific's $105 million settlement of a class action over its pelvic mesh devices has secured court approval, but the costs billed by the law firm running the case will face further scrutiny.

A judge has approved a $300 million settlement in two pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson and unit Ethicon -- the largest settlement in the history of Australian product liability group proceedings -- but a $100 million deduction for legal costs has yet to get the greenlight. 

A judge has ordered online bookmaker Entain and the Australian Hotels Association to hand over legal advice concerning their agreement to advertise digital wagering products in NSW pubs so that Tabcorp can decide whether to bring a case. 

The wife of the late mining executive Ken Talbot wanted to "destroy" the law firm that advised her husband about his will, a court has found in awarding costs against the widow.

A judge overseeing a security dispute in a shareholder class action against KPMG and former directors of Arrium has found that potential profits to the plaintiff law firm running the case under a group costs order is not relevant to determining the quantum of security for costs.

Convenience store giant 7-Eleven has lost its appeal of a $595,000 judgment handed down after a court found a franchisee signed a franchise agreement and invested almost $796,000 into a Melbourne store under false pretences.

The fees of a class action firm found to have breached cost disclosure rules in running two underpayments class actions against supermarket chain Romeo's have been adjusted up, after $260,000 was initially cut from the bill by the Federal Court.