Construction

International fugitive Jean Nassif, who headed troubled property developer Toplace, has lost his bid to reinstate defamation proceedings against Harbour Radio and 2GB host Ray Hadley, with a judge saying there was no evidence he would return to Australia to prosecute the case. 

The ATO has lost its appeal of a tribunal decision in favour of Perth land developer Tina Bazzo, with the court rejecting its “all or nothing” approach to a key provision of the Taxation Administration Act.

A judge has granted the Victorian government’s bid to dismiss a class action over its decision to retire Melbourne’s high-rise public housing towers, but allowed the applicant to recast his claim, despite protests from the state. 

The lead plaintiff in a four-year-old class action against Zurich Insurance over a defective New Zealand apartment block has said the case “has to get moving”, telling the court that property owners have not received payment since a $50 million judgment was awarded overseas in 2017.

Japanese company Hitachi has hit back at a lawsuit filed by the entity in charge of a $511 million waste-to-energy plant in Western Australia which accuses Acciona of withholding $38.6 million in bank guarantees, denying any joint liability with the Spanish infrastructure giant.

A judge hearing the Victorian government’s bid to knock out a class action over its decision to retire Melbourne’s high-rise public housing towers has questioned the state’s submission that the decision had “no effect” on the rights of tenants.

A judge has expressed concern that a “bizarre” last-minute settlement in a long-running case against the CFMEU could damage the public perception of the FWO as a model litigant, saying it could appear that the ombudsman treated some perpetrators as “more equal” than others. 

A judge has found that a law firm failed in its duty to provide ongoing costs disclosures, in a fight over a legal bill that was double the size of the last estimate provided, rejecting an argument that the client should have understood the charges would climb.

A class action against Transport for NSW over the alleged fraudulent acquisition of land to construct the $16 billion Westconnex tunnel in Sydney has been put on ice until the funder and the lead plaintiff can resolve a potential dispute. 

A judge has shut down a case by Icon against Australia’s nuclear agency over the $27 million construction of a waste treatment plant at Lucas Heights, saying the dispute should be determined by an arbitrator despite the parties waiving pre-arbitration steps.