A judge has signed off on a $2 million payout for Maddens Lawyers in a class action against electricity provider Powercor over a 2018 St Patrick’s Day bushfire in Victoria that settled last year for $17.5 million, despite finding that the law firm’s cost agreement with group members was void.
A judge has directed solicitors for deceased lawyer and funder Mark Elliott to search for his missing mobile phone, which is wanted for potential evidence by a court-appointed contradictor investigating alleged professional misconduct on the part of the legal team behind a settled class action against failed Banksia Securities.
A Federal Court judge has awarded combined damages of $2.6 million to the lead applicants in the Johnson & Johnson pelvic mesh class action, following a landmark ruling in November which found that the pharmaceutical giant did not adequately warn of the risks of the implants.
An individual claimant accusing AMP Financial Planning of ignoring multiple attempts to gain remediation for alleged insurance re-writing conduct was granted permission to voice his displeasure in court, while ASIC and AMP grapple with the details of a remediation program for insurance churn victims.
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”.
A company owned by Clive Palmer is appealing a ruling that denied its bid to temporarily block funding for a class action over the troubled Coolum Palmer Resort.
The Federal Court judge overseeing three class actions against the Commonwealth of Australia over allegedly toxic firefighting foam has questioned the terms of the in-principle settlement reached last week, including whether the settlement amount should remain confidential.
The ACCC has asked for an interim stay of an appeal by Indonesian airline Garuda, which has yet to pay a $19 million penalty for airline price fixing, telling the court it wanted to give the company another chance to explain its “entirely exceptional” non-compliance.
The Australian Stock Exchange has denied claims by ISignthis that it suspended the fintech company’s shares without warning and at the direction of ASIC, but has admitted that it told the company it would consult with the securities regulator before lifting the ongoing suspension.
Property listing startup Zango has denied claims by listing giant Domain that its ads misleadingly represented that it will have listings before any of its rivals, saying the ads amounted to “puffery” but admitting that it self-reported the matter to the ACCC.
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