Judges

Turning back to counsel on rising from the bench after an urgent hearing in a dispute between Dexus and the operator of Melbourne airport, Justice James Stevenson told them what his impending retirement would mean.

The date has been set for a court battle over Dexus' sale of shares in Asia Pacific Airport Corporation, a fight the operator of Melbourne and Launceston airports says needs 10 hearing days.

A judge has expressed doubt about the need for expert evidence in class actions against McDonald's and KFC over their alleged failure to give workers rest breaks, saying “I imagine if you’re a worker, you’d like a rest”. 

Pithy one-liners and even pithier rulings are just part of NSW Supreme Court judge James Stevenson’s legacy as he steps down from the bench, bringing to an end a class of judicial staffers known as “Team Stevo”

NAB has agreed to pay a $15.5 million penalty for failing to respond to customer hardship notices, around half the size of the penalty ASIC is seeking against Westpac for similar breaches of the Credit Code. 

Medical device maker Exactech will pay $8.7 million to end a class action that alleges its joint replacement implants were defective. 

A class action against KPMG and former Arrium directors wants to wait for the High Court's pending ruling on common fund orders before pulling the trigger on a group costs order, a request that earned a judge's grilling for what she described as a hunt for greener grass.

A judge has sent to the Full Federal Court Medibank’s fight to shield Deloitte reports into a data breach, raising concerns about how evidence from a solicitor and the health insurer's inhouse lawyer was previously treated.