A PwC partner who the ATO claims was assigned to work on a matter for meat processing company JBS to bring a “cloak of legal privilege” kept a supporting role on the brief despite the company CFO’s dissatisfaction, a court has heard.
A law firm may have exerted unfair or illegitimate pressure on a sacked solicitor when it told her to accept an offer to settle her adverse action case or risk referral to the legal watchdog, a judge has found.
Insurance giant Lloyd’s has rejected what it calls an “incomprehensible” class action pleading by Australian businesses that argue its business interruption policies should have indemnified them for losses stemming from COVID-19 lockdowns.
Franchisees of Hog’s Breath Cafe restaurant chain have been accused of “crying poor” by claiming COVID-19 robbed their restaurants of the cash flow required to pay security for costs in a class action launched against master franchisor HBCA.
Cruise operator Carnival has lost its bid to exclude US and UK passengers from a class action over the 2020 Ruby Princess COVID-19 outbreak, with a judge finding the Federal Court was not a “clearly inappropriate forum” to hear the dispute.
Merck Sharp & Dohme is seeking to overturn a judgment refusing an extension of a patent covering its Januvia and Janumet diabetes drugs that would have seen the US drug maker of retaining a monopoly over the multibillion dollar medicines beyond July 2022.
Property developer PPK Group is challenging the dismissal of its long-running negligence case against law firm HWL Ebsworth over the $25.5 million sale of Crown-owned Sydney land.
An award-winning Gold Coast solicitor and four directors of the Members Alliance and Benchmark group of companies have been charged in connection with the collapse of the property investment group in 2016.
A judge has found three lawsuits contesting compulsory COVID-19 vaccination orders by the New South Wales health minister should be heard together given the importance of avoiding competing judgments in the cases, which raise questions of public interest and drew tens of thousands of viewers to a live streamed hearing.
Despite COVID-19 case numbers in Australia hitting historic highs and the threat of an economic recession, law firms are cautiously optimistic about their ability to weather the storm without redundancies or reductions in staff pay.
For information on rights and reprints, contact subscriptions@lawyerly.com.au
