Victoria will continue to be a magnet for class actions after the High Court shot down solicitors’ common fund orders as clashing with NSW law, but the door may still be open for garden state lawyers to try their luck in the Federal Court.
The High Court has unanimously found the Federal Court has no power to allow solicitors to take a cut of a settlement or judgment in a shareholder class action against Blue Sky, saying it would be contrary to rules against contingency fees in NSW.
The High Court has upheld a decision that found Helensburgh Coal should have tried to redeploy 22 workers it dismissed as redundant and replaced with contractors.
Mercedes-Benz dealers are pressing on with their $650 million battle over the luxury car maker’s move to a fixed-priced agency model, taking their case to the High Court.
A judge has expressed worries that a class action against EY and collapsed Blue Sky Alternative Investments is “drifting” amid concerns from the defendants about “indulgent” discovery and potentially “significant” pleading changes.
Singer Katy Perry has asked the High Court to uphold the Full Court’s decision to knock out the ‘Katie Perry’ mark of an Australian fashion designer, as it gears up to hear an appeal raising issues about the construction of key provisions of the Trade Marks Act.
The owners of land acquired to build a Melbourne freeway have asked the High Court to overturn an “erroneous” appeals court decision which left them with $2 million for land worth over $30 million, saying the case raises important questions about the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act.
The common practice of splitting hearings on questions of liability and penalty may become “completely untenable” when there are credit issues, if the High Court upholds a recent recusal decision, a judge has said.
Zip Co wants the High Court to weigh in on the defence of honest concurrent use in trade mark infringement cases, pointing to a “glaring inconsistency” between two recent rulings.
The High Court has rebuffed the CFMEU’s constitutional challenge to legislation used to facilitate its takeover by the federal government, rejecting an argument that the laws were enacted with the illegitimate aim of suppressing the union’s political activities.