Billionaire Lindsay Fox and property magnate Max Beck have lost a dispute over the valuation of land at their jointly operated Essendon Airport, with a judge siding with the Federal Government’s method that calculated the site’s value at $349 million, not $7.1 million as claimed by their expert.
A Credit Suisse unit has lost a bid to strike out portions of a case launched by a group of investors over financial products known as MINI warrants, with a judge saying the claims were not untenable as argued.
Insurance company Watchstone Group, which is facing a lawsuit by Slater & Gordon UK over a botched acquisition that brought the law firm to its knees, has secured approval to file a counterclaim alleging auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers engaged in “secret meetings” with the firm’s corporate finance adviser to gain leverage leading up to the deal.
Crown Resorts has been given the greenlight to challenge a court order allowing former employees to talk to lawyers for a class action over its business in China, but the class has another chance to make its case that the ruling should stand.
In a year in which it settled a shareholder class action against itself and purchased a class action boutique, publicly-traded law firm Shine Lawyers has posted a profit of $14 million, down more than 26 percent from last year’s $19 million.
Law firm Holding Redlich has defended national managing partner Ian Robertson against allegations by NSW Labor Party general secretary Kaila Murnain that the lawyer advised her to keep quiet about a $100,000 illegal political donation.
Concerns about duplicative costs in multiple class actions are better addressed by case management decisions aimed at cutting excessive expense, not by limiting the amount lawyers representing group members can spend, the Full Federal Court has said in dismissing an appeal by baby food maker Bellamy’s.
CFMEU state boss John Setka has lost his court challenge to a vote to expel him from the Australian Labor Party, with the Victorian Supreme Court ruling it did not have the jurisdiction to rule on the case.
The lead applicant in a class action over the Carwoola bushfire has been given the greenlight to go after CGU Insurance for loss and damage caused by the 2017 fire, which was allegedly sparked by the now insolvent Advanced Plumbing and Drains.
Facebook and Instagram have denied allegations they breached Australia’s competition law when they terminated the accounts of a Melbourne-based startup, saying they were entitled to block the company from their platforms.