Trial judges should not communicate with barristers outside of court, the High Court has ruled in a “troubling” case of apprehended bias that saw a divorcee’s counsel socialising with the judge presiding over her long-running and “tortured” Family Law case.
“Hundreds of lawyers” could overwhelm Microsoft Teams if German cladding manufacturer 3A Composites continues adding cross-claimants in a class action over highly flammable building materials, a court has heard.
Westpac will serve court documents, including a motion for contempt, on Forum founder Bill Papas by text message after securing a Greek mobile number for the absent accused fraudster, as the judge overseeing the bank’s case pulled up Papas’ former lawyer for treating his courtroom like a “suburban golf club”.
Defence minister Peter Dutton has given evidence of his “hurt” at trial in a defamation case over a tweet accusing him of being a rape apologist, while the judge presiding over the hearing has warned lawyers for the tweeter to act as solicitors not “supporters”.
The Commonwealth Bank has resolved a case brought by former head of governance and company secretary Kara Nicholls, who resigned from the bank on Tuesday as part of a settlement of her claims that the governance team was overworked and under-staffed.
A Sydney solicitor accused of stealing over $130,000 from a client and doctoring five invoices has lost a bid to pause the NSW Law Society’s suspension of her certificate after a judge found there was a “very significant” risk of harm to the public if she continued to practice.
Carnival has launched a challenge to last month’s court finding that overseas passengers could remain group members in a class action over the 2020 Ruby Princess COVID-19 outbreak.
Dairy company a2 Milk has denied liability to shareholders in a class action over its 2021 financial year guidance that preceded four earnings downgrades.
After more than a year-and-a-half of virtual trials, Australia’s barristers have adapted and come up with the best techniques to maintain an edge when cross-examining witnesses in the virtual courtroom.
Insurers are misleading policyholders about class actions which seek compensation for those denied business interruption coverage for COVID-related shutdowns, a court has heard.
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