The judge overseeing the first ever bid for a group costs order in a class action that will give the plaintiff’s law firm a percentage cut of the proceeds has urged the firm to rethink characterising its own solicitor as an expert.
A judge has urged parties in a class action against Westpac over superannuation fees to hold an in-person mediation, saying that success rates have “plummeted” during the COVID-19 pandemic as more settlement talks are held virtually.
Westpac will recoup the majority of proceeds from the $29.6 million sale of collapsed fintech Sargon Group, with a judge calling the company’s liquidators “anxious sellers” who sold at speed and well below market value.
A former director of provocative lingerie retailer Honey Birdette has lost a lawsuit against billionaire retail entrepreneur Brett Blundy seeking damages after a relationship breakdown saw her bought out of the firm.
Building and construction information service provider BCI Media is suing CoreLogic, accusing the property data analytics company of unauthorised access and scraping confidential information from its copyright-protected leads platform.
Banking giant ANZ, which is facing a class action over a flex commissions scheme by its former car finance business, has admitted that the calculation of car dealers’ commission was aimed at encouraging loans with interest above a “base rate”.
An appeals court has upheld a ruling that Qantas’ dispute with former executive Nick Rohrlach over his defection to competitor Virgin Australia should be heard in Singapore because it falls under an exclusive jurisdiction clause in his employment agreement.
A former financial advisor employed by an IOOF unit accused of taking hefty commissions for steering investors towards risky investments contravened the financial advice provisions of the Corporations Act, a judge has found.
The judge overseeing a class action against Bayer-owned Monsanto has suggested a hearing by the end of the year on the cancer risks of the company’s Roundup products, saying judgment on that question would either encourage the proceedings to settle or end the case.
The judge considering the $50 million settlement reached in the shareholder class action against failed training company Vocation and auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers has signalled his likely approval of the deal, but wants a senior lawyer to tell the court why the funding commission is reasonable.