A report into an explosion at a major Queensland power station that left nearly half a million people without power is not protected by legal professional privilege, with a judge finding public statements about the report show it was not commissioned for the dominant purpose of providing legal advice.
A judge has approved a $40 million settlement in a shareholder class action against collapsed engineering firm RCR Tomlinson, with almost half of the settlement to go towards a funderâs commission and legal fees.Â
A judge has raised concerns about bids to declass group proceedings over alleged business interruption losses during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the thousands of policyholders who registered for the class actions might reap more from the cases than making claims directly with their insurers.
Lendlease has hit back at a lawsuit by a former Greenwoods & Freehills partner who alleged he was sacked for complaining about the companyâs âaggressive taxation positionâ, claiming the partner reached out after he left the firm welcoming the chance to work with the company again.
The owner of a major coal power station in Western Australia has lost its bid for an inquiry into alleged misconduct by the receivers of collapsed Griffin Coal after they tried to avoid obligations under coal supply agreements, with a judge saying the allegations were “relatively trivial”.Â
The lead applicant in a class action against former Commonwealth Bank of Australia subsidiary Count Financial has settled individual claims in the case, which alleges the financial advisory firm charged fees for no service.
Former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann has yet to engage lawyers to pursue his appeal of a judgeâs finding that he raped colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House, but while he has the right to represent himself, experts have told Lawyerly it would be “very unwise” for him to run the case on his own.
Global insurance law firm Clyde & Co has shown six of its partners in Australia the door and will create a new salaried partner position to cope with high competition in insurance law, with the partnership having decreased by a third in the last 18 months.
A judge has warned two law firms competing to run a class action against IC Markets over risky contracts-for-difference that it will be held against them if they take a âholding positionâ on their funding proposals and attempt to negotiate their bids down later.
A former Ernst & Young partner has claimed privilege against exposure to penalty and is seeking orders to avoid filing a defence in proceedings by the Australian Taxation Office alleging he promoted tax exploitation schemes.