Victoria

Class action settlement approval hearings are not a time for the court to second guess a law firm’s contingency fee as set down in a group costs order, a judge has found, but the question of proportionality is still key, and evidence of a firm’s return on investment and hourly fees may be relevant to the final decision.

Several insurers have won a dispute with two Melbourne businesses about whether an industrial special risks policy can cover losses suffered during COVID-19 lockdowns, with a judge finding the policy did not respond just because there were recorded cases in Melbourne. 

A retired Melbourne lawyer has been found unfit to practice after a review of his conduct demonstrated “discourteous, gratuitous, and offensive” conduct towards legal officials during proceedings related to his attempts to benefit from an elderly client’s estate. 

The top judge of the NSW Supreme Court, which has seen a precipitous drop in class actions, has defended his court and taken shots at the Supreme Court of Victoria and the Federal Court for embracing contingency fees for class action lawyers.

General Motors has failed to overturn a decision that put it on the hook for the applicant’s full costs in a partial settlement in a class action on behalf of Holden dealers, with an appeals court finding GM could not “walk away” from the ordinary meaning of the phrase ‘the plaintiff’s costs of the proceedings’.

A former client of Moray & Agnew alleges the law firm waited six years after taking instructions before providing it with a costs agreement, claiming it racked up a $330,000 legal bill during this time.

Former top silk Norman O’Bryan will face court this month on charges following civil findings he engaged in a fraudulent scheme as senior counsel for the Banksia Securities class action.

A judge has rejected AFL great Phil Krakouer’s request for extensive game footage before putting on an amended claim in a racial vilification class action against the league, which is expected to bring five clubs into the proceeding. 

A contradictor has argued against Monash IVF’s bid for orders allowing it to retain embryos as evidence in a class action, saying the Victorian Supreme Court has no power to make orders inconsistent with the company’s statutory obligation to store embryos for a maximum of five years. 

The previous head of First Nations strategy of the Collingwood Football Club has brought Fair Work proceedings against their former employer, claiming they were unfairly terminated after making several complaints against CEO Craig Kelly about alleged racially insensitive comments.