Allens

Driven by competing proceedings, class action filings surged back in 2023, making it the second busiest year for filings ever, according to a new report by law firm Allens.

The maker of Tasmanian pinot noir label New Certan breached the consumer laws in bottling its product in a way that resembled the packaging of a fancy French drop, but the premium wine producer failed to prove any loss, a court has ruled.

Apple has made exceptional profits skimming a 30 per cent commission from sales on its app store, dubbed by the tech giant's CEO an "economic miracle", Epic Games has said on the first day of trial in a landmark competition case.

An Australian court will get a chance to weigh in on whether Apple and Google violated their dominant position in the app marketplace by requiring developers to use their payment systems or face a 30 per cent fee, when trial kicks off Monday in Fortnite game maker Epic Games' case and two related class actions against the tech giants.

Online marketplace Redbubble has succeeded on appeal in cutting down the damages it owes to Hells Angels from over $78,000 to just $100, following a finding that it violated the motorcycle group’s trade marks.

The law firm behind a class action against Insurance Australia Group has secured a group costs order that will give it 30 per cent of any proceeds -- a contingency fee rate six percentage points higher than the median rate for shareholder cases.

A judge has ordered soft class closure ahead of mediation in a class action against five major banks over alleged foreign exchange rate-rigging, saying the applicant's subjective view on what will assist mediation should not be imposed on the banks.

A judge has questioned the applicant’s opposition to soft class closure in a class action accusing five major banks of rate-rigging, a measure the banks say could save “tens of millions” in legal expenses. 

A judge has railed against insurer QBE after it sent an email to brokers saying it could “in effect ignore” the court’s request that they notify clients about a class action on behalf of businesses that were denied business interruption coverage for COVID-19 related shutdowns. 

National Australia Bank has lost its bid to shield a case by a Melbourne gold bullion dealer after a judge said one of the bank’s arguments for suppression had “the air of a Kafka novel”.