Six law firms are working on a consolidated trial of multiple class actions over the collapse of retailer Dick Smith, but when the trial opened in the NSW Supreme Court this week, a lone barrister appeared in court before Justice Michael Ball, amid a sea of empty bar tables. Most of the hearing’s participants joined through a virtual courtroom while members of the public were invited to watch the trial unfold on a YouTube live stream. Welcome to litigating in the age of the coronavirus.
IOOF subsidiary Australian Executor Trustees has been hit with an $80.6 million judgment after breaching its duty as trustee in the sale of a 42,000 hectare timber plantation by collapsed forestry giant Gunns Group, and it can’t pass the liability on to Spark Helmore, despite the law firm’s inadequate advice.
Explosives maker Dyno Nobel has reached a mid-trial settlement in its case against its major rival, Orica, over a patent for a method for blasting rock at open cut mines.
A former Commonwealth Bank executive facing criminal commercial bribery charges has been ordered to hand over a number of documents in a US lawsuit brought by IT company Computer Sciences Corporation, but has avoided orders compelling him to take the witness stand.
Sparke Helmore has refuted allegations by IOOF subsidiary Australian Executor Trustees (SA) that it failed to provide proper legal advice to the trustee on a 2012 pine plantation sale that left 4,500 investors without millions of dollars worth of assets.
IOOF subsidiary Australian Executor Trustees (SA) is facing an $82 million claim for compensation by investors angered by the way the trustee handled the sale of a 42,000 hectare timber plantation run by collapsed forestry giant Gunns Group.
A court has heard a former HWL Ebsworth property lawyer admitted to errors in a due diligence report missing crucial flood risk information that is at the centre of a trial over a $28.5 million sale of Crown-owned land in Sydney.
Sirtex Medical has reached a mid-trial agreement to resolve a shareholder class action that centred on the biotech company’s sales forecasts of its radiation treatment.
The former chief executive officer of Hastie Services has admitted to asking staff to make up for a shortfall between forecast and actual profits at the firm, but claims he made the order with the expectation it would be done legally, the jury hearing a criminal case against him was told.
A former finance manager from Hastie Services and key witness for the prosecution in the criminal trial against two of the company’s former executives only pointed the finger at former COO Ian Thompson to avoid jail time herself, a jury has heard.