Construction

A judge has declined a novel bid by the lead applicant in a class action over disruptions stemming from the construction of Sydney’s $3 billion light rail to claim a funder’s 40 per cent commission as damages, rather than as a deduction from group members’ payout.

Shareholders of New Zealand construction giant Fletcher Building have told a court that late claims in their class action over alleged misleading 2017 profit forecasts are not time barred because knowledge of the allegations was not discoverable before the case was filed.

The former managing director of property developer Ralan Group has been sentenced to four years immediate imprisonment after pleading guilty to six fraud offences over loans the defunct group took out to fund several projects in Sydney.

Construction giant Boral has lost its bid to block a class action from running a ‘novel’ argument that shareholders suffered loss because of natural fluctuations in share price, rather than as a direct result of alleged continuous disclosure breaches. 

A judge has refused to retroactively approve a conditional costs agreement between a liquidator and a Sydney law firm to pursue claims against a former director and employee of defunct project management firm AJW, rejecting as misconceived the claim that approval had utility only after a settlement.

The Victorian government faces a class action over its decision to redevelop Melbourne’s high-rise public housing towers, with lawyers for residents calling on the state to reconsider the plan.

Two former directors of a Canberra property development group have lost their bid to bar ASIC from announcing their disqualification, with a tribunal finding this would keep financiers and creditors “in the dark” and make the market less transparent.

Thiess has defeated a lawsuit by a rock supplier seeking $9.3 million in damages for alleged delays by the mining services giant in receiving materials for work on Chevron’s Wheatstone natural gas hub. 

Global law firm K&L Gates has lured the head of McInnes Wilson’s construction and infrastructure group  to join its growing team in Brisbane.

Developer Centurion Australia Investments has lost an appeal in a dispute with builder APM Group in which it argued that its RMIT Village student accommodation falls under laws applying to domestic buildings.