Judges

Engineering firm GHD Australia is the latest company to be pulled into a class action over a bus crash in NSW's Hunter Valley that killed 10 passengers, a court has heard.

The trustee for shareholders that want to retain their Dexus-managed stake in Australia Pacific Airports Corporation can't be separately represented from the selling group, a judge has ruled in a case that pits APAC's investors against each other.

Another company is being pulled into a class action over a fatal bus crash in NSW's Hunter Valley, with infrastructure consulting firm AECOM planning a cross-claim against engineering firm GHD Australia.

A judge has questioned whether an investor in failed Banksia Securities can bring a case against a court-appointed receiver over his support for a class action settlement later found to involve deception by a team of lawyers. 

Telstra has been ordered to pay $18 million in ACCC proceedings, after a court found the telco misled thousands of broadband customers about the speed of its budget internet provider Belong.

On the eve of a Federal Court bankruptcy hearing, Sydney-based publican Jon Adgemis and founder of Public Hospitality Group has declared bankruptcy, days after five of his pubs were placed into receivership. 

Air conditioning wholesaler Polyaire has been ordered to pay $15.2 million in damages in relation to a 2018 fire at a Seven Hills, NSW, factory complex it leased caused by its placement of wooden pallets in a open yard.

A judge has clarified a warning he made to refer lawyers for Alvarez & Marsal to the legal watchdog after hearing of the hefty costs of complying with discovery orders won by rival EY, saying the threat wasn't directed at counsel.

The receiver for Banksia Securities — the failed lender at the centre of a scandal-ridden class action — has argued a new case accusing him of serious misconduct is vexatious and wants a court to release him from the claims.

Qantas has won a permanent injunction aimed at preventing unknown hackers from disseminating information accessed in a June data breach, with a judge saying the orders have “real utility” despite the hackers being beyond the reach of the court.