A judge has criticised the parties in a land sale dispute over Sydney’s Parklea Markets for failing to make progress to bring the case to a close, almost three months after a $4.25 million judgment was awarded to a company owned by local retail personality Con Constantine.
Six law firms are working on a consolidated trial of multiple class actions over the collapse of retailer Dick Smith, but when the trial opened in the NSW Supreme Court this week, a lone barrister appeared in court before Justice Michael Ball, amid a sea of empty bar tables. Most of the hearing’s participants joined through a virtual courtroom while members of the public were invited to watch the trial unfold on a YouTube live stream. Welcome to litigating in the age of the coronavirus.
Two law firms have mandated that staff begin working from home to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, while others begin shifting their workforce offsite as firms test their ability to weather what is expected to be a prolonged public health crisis.
The ACCC has been given the go-ahead to continue its regulatory action against car rental company Australian 4WD Hire over allegedly threatening emails, three months after the firm went into voluntary liquidation.
The number of law firms forcing staff to work remotely in response to concerns about exposure to the new coronavirus has grown, with four firms making the decision Thursday to shut down floors or whole offices.
Personal healthcare giant PZ Cussons is seeking $4.7 million in indemnity costs from the ACCC, claiming the regulator’s much hyped spoke and hub case over an alleged laundry detergent cartel was always “overwhelmingly likely” to fail.
A former Norton Rose Fulbright partner who accused a Federal Court judge of bias has failed in his bid to have the judge recuse himself on the first day of trial in the long running termination dispute, which was heard in Melbourne this week.
The City of Melbourne has rejected a claim for damages for allegedly infringing a patented parking detection system created by tech firm Vehicle Monitoring Systems, saying it was not aware of the existence of two patents underlying the invention.
Two executives of car wash franchisor Geowash that were found to be knowingly involved in the company’s unconscionable conduct in its dealings with franchisees have lost their bid to void a costs agreement with law firm Thomson Geer, with a judge calling legal cost estimations “an inexact science”.
Dam operator Sunwater will join an appeal of a victory in a class action filed on behalf of victims of the 2011 Queensland floods, despite pleas from the firm running the case and the State of Queensland that insurers for the dam operators let the ruling stand.