Seven class actions against auto makers that sold cars equipped with defective Takata airbags can allege the car makers’ silence constituted misleading and deceptive conduct.
A late proposal by the Australian Law Reform Commission to introduce a ‘leave to proceed’ mechanism into class actions has been blasted by a major litigation funder and a plaintiffs-side law firm as a de facto class certification procedure that would ramp up costs and add years of delay to cases.
Pacific National would not misuse its market power after taking control of an important rail terminal in Brisbane because that would be “irrational”, the Federal Court heard Monday at the start of a two-week trial in the competition watchdog’s case alleging the rail giant colluded with competitor Aurizon to become the dominant operator of key freight corridors.
Litigation funder Regency Funding has sought leave to intervene as a major player in one of two challenges to the courts’ powers to issue common fund orders in class actions, but it might have a fight on its hands.
Adero Law is seeking to intervene in a Federal Court case against WorkPac over the rights of casual workers, arguing a class action it plans to bring against the labour hire firm should be heard first.
Two far-reaching appeals challenging the court’s power to order all members of an open class action to pay a litigation funder will be heard together, and soon, the Federal Court’s top judge said Thursday.
The ACCC said Thursday that while the merger of Fairfax Media with Nine Entertainment is likely to reduce competition among media providers, it will not oppose the tie-up.
The judge overseeing Geoffrey Rush’s defamation trial interjected in Nationwide News’ closing submissions on Wednesday, expressing doubt about the publisher’s interpretation of evidence — including a text message with a tongue emoji Rush sent to his accuser — said to back its defence in the case.
The Daily Telegraph publisher Nationwide News has lost a bid to amend its defence in Geoffrey Rush’s defamation case to include evidence from an unnamed witness it claimed would support the imputation that Rush engaged in sexual misconduct, with the judge saying the prejudice to Rush would be “manifest and palpable”.
Actor Geoffrey Rush is seeking to suppress an amended defence by Nationwide News, arguing that if they’re made public the amendments could cause him “irreparable harm”.