Judges

A former Holden dealer has lost a $9 million suit alleging General Motors misleadingly represented that it was “100% committed” to the line a few years before it decided to discontinue the brand. 

The Prime Minister has appointed former High Court Justice Virginia Bell to lead a royal commission into antisemitism in the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack, in which 15 were killed during Hanukkah celebrations. 

The owners corporation for an apartment complex in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda has lost its adverse possession claim over a tennis court mostly located on adjoining land, with a judge finding their use of the property was subject to a lease. 

A Federal Court suit by HR company Employment Hero accusing investor and rival Seek of misusing its market power has been resolved.

A bid by the Victorian Liberal Party to summarily toss a challenge to a $1.5 million advance made to former leader John Pesutto for defence costs in a defamation suit has failed, with a court finding there is a case to be tried about the validity of the loan.

A judge has removed a liquidator from the winding up of a Victorian cabinetry business, finding he failed to act honestly by settling unfair preference claims with tax agencies without disclosing key information. 

A judge has ordered the lead applicant in a failed class action against Queensland utilities Stanwell and CS Energy, which was slated to be worth $1 billion, to pay $32.4 million in costs.

A court has found that two of the three heirs to the owners of property investor Kurtz Group can continue to use the services of Arnold Bloch Leibler, finding no risk of conflict. 

Class action settlements hit major milestones last year, with the year’s largest settlements totalling $1.6 billion and one case resolving for a historic $548.5 million.

Former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann has taken his fight against a civil finding that he raped colleague Brittany Higgins to the High Court.