Writer Clementine Ford is suing Fairfax Media and Tory Maguire, executive editor of The Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers, over a statement Maguire made referring to “vile and personal attacks” by Ford on journalists and editors at the mastheads, where she was previously a columnist.
The High Court has decided to weigh in on whether computer-implemented inventions are eligible for patent protection, granting special leave to Aristocrat Technologies to challenge a judgment that shot down four patents for its popular Lightning Link electronic poker machine.
Technology company Nuix has been hit with a third shareholder class action over its troubled $1.8 billion float on the ASX, setting up what is likely to be the first beauty parade in the Supreme Court of Victoria since the state allowed class action lawyers to seek a cut of any settlement or judgment.
The Federal Court won’t permit a Melbourne-based judge to travel to Sydney on the dime of the parties in a class action against wealth management group Colonial First State, but will foot the bill itself.
The law firm administering the $112 million Robodebt class action settlement has asked a court to sign off on a $2.2 million bill to cover the full projected costs of distributing the funds, a figure three times the estimate calculated by a costs referee.
Even after 30 years in action, the future of class actions in Australia remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is the impact class actions have had – for claimants, lawyers, litigation funders and for corporate Australia, writes Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s Chris Pagent, Brad Woodhouse, Alex Ji and Thomas Scott.
Westpac has yet to commence extradition proceedings against Forum Finance director Bill Papas due to concerns that the alleged fraudster may face only contempt charges if he is brought back to Australia prematurely.
AMP has admitted to contraventions and will face a penalty in ASIC proceedings over fees-for-no-service conduct that allegedly led to upwards of $600,000 being unlawfully withdrawn from superannuation member accounts.
The Canberra developer behind the Manhattan on the Park apartment building in the national capital has been hit with a class action on behalf of home buyers who were allegedly misled into paying GST on the price of their property.
The Victorian Auditor-General Andrew Greaves and the State of Victoria are being sued by a former executive who says she was overworked to the point of mental breakdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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