Victoria

A judge has granted the first-ever application to vary a contingency fee in a class action that has yet to reach settlement or judgment, but has warned his decision doesn't set a precedent for “routine variation” of group costs orders. 

A class action against Dr Daniel Lanzer and his clinic has won approval to allege that some doctors passed themselves off as plastic surgeons in social media posts, including some that included the terms #plasticsurgeon and #plasticsurgery.

A law firm bringing a class action alleging Harvey Norman sold worthless warranties is seeking a 30 per cent group costs order, arguing times have changed and that the court should only consider GCOs awarded in the past year. 

A Queensland solicitor has been referred to the Legal Services Commission after filing submissions in a client’s traffic offense case that a judge said contained fake citations and may have been AI-generated.

The reluctance of Pacific Werribee Shopping Centre co-owner Wadren to withdraw a non-compliant expert report in a $356 million defects case against the collapsed Probuild has raised the hackles of the presiding judge.

An upcoming trial in a case over a Victorian Liberal Party-linked company's decision to give former party leader John Pesutto a $1.5 million loan to help him avoid bankruptcy has been vacated.

Mills Oakley has been hit with a negligence lawsuit by a former client who claims the firm failed to advise of the tax consequences of demolishing a dwelling before selling a property in Melbourne's east for $5.4 million.

Built has lost its lawsuit against the Victorian Correctional Infrastructure Partnership over a dispute resolution mechanism in a construction subcontract for upgrades to the Metropolitan Remand Centre. 

A class action alleging Sportsbet provided unlawful in-play betting services says the bookmaker’s counterclaim seeking restitution of winnings faces "obvious problems", pointing to difficulties in binding group members.

A judge has ordered the firm behind a class action over Victoria's COVID-19 hotel quarantine program to pay another $3.6 million in security for costs, a far cry from the $24 million sought by the state to cover its outlay.