A judge’s public criticism of a colleague for resigning her post before delivering a judgment reserved for three years was harsh, not fair. But the evident frustration that led to the rebuke reinforces the need for a judicial commission as an appropriate avenue to give vent to complaints, experts say.
ASIC has brought enforcement action against Vanguard Investments Australia, accusing the investment firm of misleading claims that its ethically conscious hedge fund screened securities for their environmental, social and good governance bona fides.
Despite a judge’s complaint that class action costs are generally “out of control”, the law firm that secured a $192.5 million settlement and earned about $25 million in fees in the Montara oil spill case has won approval for more fees — these ones incurred in a hearing to determine how the settlement spoils should be divided.
Uber and the applicants in class actions against the car service will head into mediation later this year, and only group members who sign up to join the cases will get a chance to share in the proceeds of any settlement that results from the talks.
The liquidators of collapsed Sargon Capital have resolved their unfair preference case against King & Wood Mallesons over $540,000 in fees the law firm was paid for work advising the fintech before it went under.
A judge has resigned before delivering judgment in litigation that went to trial in 2020, and the colleague assigned the unenviable task of issuing a ruling has taken a swipe at his departing peer, noting the absence of medical or other evidence to explain her “unwillingness” to see the case through.
Former director of event management company the Human Group, Helen Rosamond, has been sentenced to a 15-year aggregate term of imprisonment for defrauding NAB of $19 million, and will have to serve eight years of the sentence behind bars.
A senior public servant behind the Robodebt fiasco is one of the first heads to roll following the findings of a royal commission into the illegal debt recovery scheme devised by the previous federal government to claw back welfare overpayments.
The operators of a childcare business have failed to persuade a jury that a press conference by the Australian Federal Police about an alleged multimillion dollar government benefit fraud was defamatory.
A judge’s decision that the thumbs-up emoji on a contract constitutes a valid signature is the latest court ruling to find that emojis can amount to acceptance of an offer, and serves as a warning about the downsides of the smiley face and its offspring, experts say.