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Opal Tower builder Icon, Liberty Mutual spar over class action legal bill
The builder of Sydney’s troubled Opal Tower has brought a claim for indemnity against insurer Liberty Mutual, which has already agreed to pay out $22.5 million, claiming it is owed a total of $12.5 million for its costs in defending a class action by residents. 
Clive Palmer files bid for default judgment against ex-ASIC chair James Shipton
Clive Palmer has filed an application for default judgment against the former chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, James Shipton, in his proceedings alleging he acted in bad faith and beyond his power in the regulator's pursuit of claims.
Scrapped Chorley exception should not be revived based on law firm size, Full Court says
An incorporated legal practice has lost its bid to recover costs for work done by its own solicitors while self-represented in a dispute with a former client, with the Full Federal Court finding that making an exception based on firm size would “revive an inequality before the law”.
Judge questions law firm’s 40% contingency fee in Ansell class action
A judge has questioned the law firm running a class action against medical glove maker Ansell on its application for a contingency fee rate of 40 per cent, which would equal the highest rate granted since Victoria allowed firms to earn a percentage profit of a group proceeding.
Monash IVF fights plaintiff’s ‘new case’ in embryo class action
Monash IVF is fighting a class action's bid to file a fourth statement of claim in the three year-old case over the alleged destruction of potentially viable embryos, saying the proposed pleadings sparked by an expert report constituted a new case. 
Court rips up law firm’s ‘positively misleading’ costs agreement
A judge has set aside a costs agreement between a Perth-based law firm and its client in a family law matter that culminated in a $87,000 bill, saying the agreement was “positively misleading” with respect to the applicable hourly rates.
Promise did not seal contract, judge says in tossing Cirrus case over NZ Defence Force training
A judge has tossed a contract claim brought against aircraft maintenance company Hawker Pacific by scorned subcontractor Cirrus RTPS, finding that a purported agreement surrounding a joint bid for services offered by the New Zealand Defence Force was not intended to be binding.
Talent manager files appeal in Angus & Julia Stone’s $2.8M lawsuit
UK talent management company TaP Management has filed an appeal after a judge dismissed its bid to permanently stay a case by Australian musical duo Angus & Julia Stone, who allege their former manager overcharged them by $2.8 million. 
Fortescue accused of ‘extraordinary invasion of privacy’ of start-up trio
Seeking to quash search orders won by metals company Fortescue against former employees who founded a green iron rival, a lawyer for the start-up has said three terabytes of data were indiscriminately copied, including confidential, privileged and irrelevant material.
COVID-19 business interruption class actions ‘manufacturing a controversy’, says insurer
Four insurers have argued that class actions over alleged business interruption losses during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic should be de-classed, with one insurer saying group members cannot “go behind” a Full Court decision denying coverage for certain policyholders.