Common fund orders are the completion of the notion of class actions envisaged when the regime was introduced 27 years ago, a joint-sitting of two appeals courts was told on the second and last day of a landmark challenge to what has become an oft-used case management tool by trial judges.
The government has thrown its support behind a proposal to give the Federal Court jurisdiction to hear white collar criminal matters.
The ABC has called for a “clearer articulation” of former managing director Michelle Guthrie’s unfair sacking claims against the broadcaster ahead of court-ordered mediation.
The judge overseeing a class action against Ethicon over allegedly faulty pelvic mesh implants has shot down the device maker’s bid for a class closure order.
US-based chemical and materials technology company Cytec Industries has filed a patent lawsuit against a unit of Ecolab, after a delegate for IP Australia gave the water technology company a third chance to amend its patent for preventing sediment buildup on mining equipment.
The court overseeing the ACCC’s collusion case against rail freight operators Aurizon and Pacific National has granted a confidentiality request by BlueScope Steel over documents subpoenaed after the steel company told the court trucks were not a viable alternative for transporting its goods in Queensland.
Accounting firm Pitcher Partners will challenge a ruling that it owes a NSW bus operator $5.6 million in damages for fraudulently concealing a costly amortisation error.
Three words missing from a demand letter have sunken oil and gas producer Santos Limited’s appeal of a loss in its dispute with French bank BNP Paribas over a $55 million bank guarantee.
Companies that run afoul of the law should brace for more courtroom battles against ASIC, after the Hayne Royal Commission urged the corporate regulator to make litigation a central pillar of its enforcement strategy.
Banking royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne has recommended at least two unnamed entities face criminal charges for dishonest conduct connected to their fees for no service practices, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ jail or a hefty fine, or both.
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