Contracts

Allianz must indemnify the Uniting Church for historic claims of sexual abuse that allegedly occurred up to four decades ago at the exclusive Sydney boys’ private school Knox Grammar, a judge has found.

Convenience store giant 7-Eleven has lost its appeal of a $595,000 judgment handed down after a court found a franchisee signed a franchise agreement and invested almost $796,000 into a Melbourne store under false pretences.

The High Court has ruled that the buyer of a well-known Sydney hotel was not entitled to repudiate the purchase agreement because of the hotel's compliance with restrictions on public gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected the operation of the business.

Former Nuix CEO Edward Sheehy is challenging his loss in a lawsuit claiming he's owed $183 million in options under a 2008 agreement with the technology company.

An appeals court has dismissed a challenge in a lengthy legal drama between the children of one of Australia’s richest families, finding that a lawsuit over $200 million in Lendlease purchase options was not brought in good faith.

Japanese oil company Inpex has lost its bid for a split trial in a dispute with insurers AIG Australia and Mitsui Sumitomo over coverage for litigation related to defects at the $45 billion Ichthys liquified natural gas project in the Northern Territory.

A judge has questioned a bid by cruise operator Scenic Tours to water down a class action brought over a series of European cruises that went ahead in 2018 despite a record-breaking drought that saw river levels drop so low they became impassable.

A judge has declined a bid by former United Petroleum franchisees to stay two Federal Court proceedings in light of a class action against the petrol giant over the introduction of loss-making Pie Face stores, finding the suits have little in common.

A judge has ordered a litigation funder and the lead applicant in a settled class action to personally mediate a stoush over expenses, saying he doubted the applicant's $1.2 million claim and said the court is "not a place for their sport”.

An appeals court has thrown out a $285,000 negligence judgment against Sparke Helmore over two sales contracts worth $1.5 million and rejected a NSW developer’s attempts to squeeze the law firm for a heftier damages bill.