Judgment

Builder Acciona and consultant AECOM have been named as defendants in a class action on behalf of families of victims of a bus accident in Hunter Valley, NSW, facing allegations they were responsible for the construction and certification of the interchange where it occurred. 

Payday lenders BSF Solutions and Cigno have lost an appeal in action by ASIC alleging they engaged in unlicensed credit activity and charged prohibited fees, in the case's second run up to the Full Federal Court.

A judge has criticised Mayfair Group’s “directing mind” James Mawhinney in a do-over of ASIC’s case over notes tied to Mission Beach properties, saying “vociferous and continuous efforts” to blame others, including lawyers, for investor losses did not reflect well on him.

Mercedes-Benz dealers have lost their appeal of a decision tossing their $650 million suit, with the Full Court backing the primary judge’s rejection of a "moralistic" approach to unconscionable conduct.

A judge has allowed a Central Coast resident to weigh in on Optus’ challenge to a council's refusal to bless its plans to build a telecommunications tower, saying the council’s “commercial relationship” with the telco justified a contradictor.

The Full Court has upheld the cancellation of a US sports merchandise company's 'Fanatics' trade mark, agreeing it knew about Australian AFL merchandise maker FanFirm’s trade marks when it chose its name. 

Aristocrat has lost its bid to question class action members about whether they have a gambling problem ahead of mediation, with a judge saying it called for “self-diagnosis” and would not yield reliable results.

In the third decision approving an unaltered group costs order at the resolution of a class action, a judge has OK'd an $85 million settlement by ANZ, representing a $21 million payday for Maurice Blackburn.

A judge has given the greenlight to a $10 million settlement with entities linked to late solicitor and Banksia class action mastermind Mark Elliott, noting the “perverse” difficulty of recovering more of the $70 million in assets held on trust.

Retirement village operator Lifestyle Communities has foreshadowed an appeal after a tribunal ruled that exit fees charged to departing residents were void.