Construction

Property developer Grocon has "reluctantly" put its construction business into administration, blaming the NSW government's handling of the Central Barangaroo development project which has sparked a $270 million lawsuit in the NSW Supreme Court.

An appeals court has shot down oil and gas giant Santos' bid for expanded discovery against engineering company Fluor, finding that the application was "akin to a fishing expedition" that was based on "a shaky assumption" by lawyers from Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

Mining services company Thiess has lost its challenge to a class action ruling which found the company had underpaid workers for time spent on the bus travelling home from a Pilbara-based liquefied natural gas processing plant owned by Woodside Energy.

In an important ruling that confines the scope of "industrial activity" under the Fair Work Act, the Full Federal Court has overturned a $50,000 fine against the CFMEU and two officials for organising a work stoppage at a Brighton construction site that the union said needed a female toilet.

The Federal Court has approved what is thought to be only the second ever audio-visual opt out notice in a class action, a move that will make it easier for group members to find out about class actions they may be eligible for.

Construction information service provider BCI Media Group has won its bid for preliminary discovery against property data analytics firm CoreLogic Australia, which is suspected of breaching copyright by gaining unauthorised access to BCI's subscription platforms and data scraping for leads.

Construction firm Icon Co has won a coverage dispute with its insurers over $31 million in losses stemming from Sydney's ill-fated Opal Tower, whose residents were evacuated after cracks appeared in the tower's walls on Christmas Eve in 2018.

Making good on its promise to crack down on anti-competitive conduct in the commercial construction sector, the ACCC has initiated proceedings against NQ Cranes alleging the crane company entered an agreement with a competitor to divvy up the market for overhead crane parts and servicing in Brisbane and Newcastle.

The chief judge of the Federal Court has told Chubb Insurance to consider whether it wants to be held responsible for the commercial viability of Evolution Precast Systems, which has been denied coverage over the ill-fated Opal Tower and faces myriad legal claims.

Two Boral executives have failed in their bid to shut down a false imprisonment and malicious prosecution lawsuit brought by union heavyweight John Setka relating to dropped blackmail charges.