Class Actions
Judge rejects ratchet contingency fee in MinRes class action
A judge has ordered a flat contingency fee at a rate below the maximum sought by the firm running a class action against Mineral Resources, agreeing with a colleague that recent shareholder class action losses don't justify a higher percentage.
Energy & Natural Resources
ASIC fights to strike out Palmer’s negligence, public misfeasance claims
ASIC has called for a court to strike out negligence and public misfeasance claims in a suit by billionaire Clive Palmer alleging the regulator and its chief investigator were "improperly influenced” by corporate rivals.
Intellectual Property
Judge ‘running out of patience’ in Scidera’s bovine gene patent suit
A judge has declined to order US-based animal genomics company Scidera to file a position statement in its bovine gene patent infringement suit and said she was “running out of patience” after unsuccessful strike-out and summary dismissal applications by the defendants.
ASIC
ASIC accuses WA mineral exploration company of continuous disclosure breaches
ASIC has filed proceedings against mineral exploration company AVZ Minerals and two of its directors, alleging the company failed to disclose a critical legal dispute, including a forgery claim, relating to a $32 million lithium mine deal.
M&A
Cosette appeals loss over exit from $672M Mayne Pharma merger
Cosette plans to appeal a ruling that rejected its bid to terminate an agreement to merge with Mayne Pharma, as the US drug company also refuses to agree to conditions needed to win Foreign Investment Review Board approval for the tie-up.
Thomson Geer
Loss of affordable housing ‘not fatal’ to Annandale development application
A Sydney developer has won a dispute with the Inner West Council over its Annandale housing project application, despite a court finding it would cause a loss of affordable housing.
Energy & Natural Resources
Billboard company Manboom loses trespass case against Jemena Gas
Billboard company Manboom has suffered a loss in its case against Jemena Gas alleging the presence of underground gas infrastructure at a site in Mascot, NSW that supplies gas to 1.6 million customers amounts to trespassing.
Competition & Consumer Protection
Mobil to cop $16M penalty for misleading consumers about fuel
Mobil Oil has agreed to pay a $16 million penalty after admitting it ran false ads in far North Queensland claiming it was selling a specific brand of fuel with certain benefits, when in fact it was suppling ordinary fuel.
Class Actions
$200M Cudlee Creek bushfire class action goes to trial after partial settlement
A class action on behalf of thousands of victims of the December 2019 Cudlee Creek bushfire has reached a confidential settlement with two individuals, while claims worth $200 million against SA Power Networks have proceeded to trial.
Legal Ethics
Solicitor who misrepresented judge’s view loses appeal of caution
A solicitor who attributed a barrister's submission about his client's capacity to a Supreme Court judge in a letter to a costs assessor has lost an appeal of a NSW Law Society decision to caution him.
