A former Norton Rose Fulbright partner who accused a Federal Court judge of bias has failed in his bid to have the judge recuse himself on the first day of trial in the long running termination dispute, which was heard in Melbourne this week.
A judge has found that a series of flyers, media statements and protests from the Transport Workers’ Union raising concerns about truck driver safety were likely to mislead, but dismissed the German grocery store’s lawsuit after finding the statements were not made in trade or commerce.
Agricultural fund management firm Rural Funds Management is seeking over $625,000 in damages from US short seller Bonitas Research, which was found by the NSW Supreme Court to have engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in a report describing RFM’s equity as “ultimately worthless” that sent the firm’s share price plummeting.
While the recommendations of three previous inquiries stay shelved, Attorney General Christian Porter has announced another examination into Australia’s class action regime, a move panned as purely political by at least one leading practitioner.
Law firm Maurice Blackburn has taken legal action on behalf of a sports club which missed out on funding from a $100 million grants program, in what could be a test case for other clubs that lost out because of the so-called ‘sports rorts’ affair.
Law firm Clayton Utz has sent staff at its Sydney office home amid concerns that one of its employees may have been exposed to the coronavirus.
A maritime development company has failed in its bid to resume its competition lawsuit against NSW Ports, with the Federal Court ordering that the proceedings remained stayed until a similar case brought by the competition regulator is heard.
The builder behind the ill-fated Opal Tower has lost its opposition in the NSW Supreme Court to a $3.9 million guarantee requested by the property’s developer, after a judge found it had not proved compliance with its contractual obligations.
Litigation funder Augusta Ventures has had its appeal of a groundbreaking ruling that put it on the hook for security for costs in a Fair Work class action pushed back by three months after a delayed case management hearing, with a Federal Court judge telling the parties they were to blame.
As Victoria looks set to pass legislation allowing law firms to cut litigation funders out of class action work, and the High Court increases the risks of financing group proceedings, funders operating in Australia have been forced to think on their feet to adapt to the ever-changing regime. Australia’s largest litigation funder IMF Bentham is no exception, CEO Andrew Saker told Lawyerly.
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