Two heavyweight plaintiff firms battled it out Friday to run a shareholder class action against Beach Energy, with Shine Lawyers saying it should be rewarded for setting the price of the contingency fees sought in the case and Slater & Gordon arguing it has a better track record in class actions.
A case before the Full Court that will revisit the question of whether class actions are managed investment schemes may not resolve all of the funding controversies that have emerged in a class action against franchise giant Retail Food Group, a court has heard.
A Federal Court registrar overseeing a costs dispute between ASIC and former Tennis Australia president Steven Healy worked in the practice group where the costs were accrued and should recuse herself, the regulator has said.
A barrister who has sued Nine over its coverage of her battle for custody of famed social media pooch Oscar the cavoodle has accused the media company of seeking to delay filing a response to the lawsuit so that it can ‘fish’ for a defence.
Liquidators for ready-made meals producer Jewel of India have lost their bid to dodge public examination over their alleged poor handling of the business’ sale and failure to investigate potential claims against the Commonwealth Bank.
An appeals court has found that Avant Insurance must indemnify a plastic surgeon for his legal bills and the claims of all relevant group members in a class action over alleged botched breast augmentations.
A judge has denied an “invasive” bid to search hospitality giant Merivale’s payroll systems ahead of an upcoming mediation in a $129 million underpayment class action covering 13,500 employees.
A judge has declined to award costs against a group of nurses who recently dropped their Fair Work lawsuit against Monash Health, saying the case was not “doomed to fail” and noting the “extremity” of the Victorian government’s vaccine mandate for workers.
The ACCC has expressed preliminary concerns that Spirit Super and Palisade Investment Partners’ proposed $1.2 billion acquisition of the Port of Geelong could substantially lessen competition in Victoria for the supply of bulk cargo port services.
The competition regulator has proposed to deny authorisation for a patent settlement that sought to permit early entry of generic drugs. Whether the companies involved will be able to quell the ACCC’s concerns remains to be seen, but what is clear is that future authorisation applications will contend with significant forensic challenges, writes Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s Odette Gourley, Richard Flitcroft, David Fixler and Ian Reynolds.