A report into an explosion at a major Queensland power station that left nearly half a million people without power is not protected by legal professional privilege, with a judge finding public statements about the report show it was not commissioned for the dominant purpose of providing legal advice.
Collapsed construction and maintenance company General Trade Industries has lost its bid to revive abandoned claims against AGL in a nearly four-year old contract case over work on two Queensland gas plants, with a judge finding the company has had “more than a sufficient opportunity to plead its case”.
In a win for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, a judge has found that payday lender Sunshine Loans charged thousands of customers prohibited fees, issuing a scathing judgment condemning the company’s “wrongheaded” conduct.
The mother of murder victim Shandee Blackburn has lost her bid to have a judge decide ahead of trial whether acquitted suspect John Peros suffered serious harm from Facebook posts that allegedly accused him of being a murderer.
A judge has signed off on a $26 million settlement in a shareholder class action against Ardent Leisure over the 2016 Dreamworld tragedy, including $7.8 million for the funder that backed the case and $5 million in legal costs.
The firm and funder that ran a shareholder class action against Ardent Leisure over the 2016 Dreamworld tragedy are seeking deductions totalling more than half of the $26 million settlement reached in the case.
A judge has ordered National Australia Bank to pay just one-fifth the $10 million penalty proposed by ASIC for overcharging customer fees, taking aim at the regulator’s concise pleading and saying the maximum penalty he could order was “woefully inadequate”.
Dairy processor Lactalis Australia has been hit with a $950,000 penalty in the first proceedings against a company for breaches of the Dairy Code.
Queensland lender SunshineLoans has lost its second bid for the Full Court to decide whether ASIC has the power to bring civil penalty proceedings for violations of the Credit Code, with a judge finding its arguments were not strong enough to vacate an upcoming trial.
Sunshine Loans has lost its bid to have the Full Court weigh in on ASIC’s authority to seek penalties for Credit Code violations, in proceedings accusing the online lender of charging over $320,000 in prohibited fees.