Amelia Smith

Four proceedings over COVID-19 business interruption losses will be stripped of class action status, with a judge saying most of the common issues were already determined in test cases.

A class action trial has heard that allegedly flammable Alucobond panels provided by 3A Composites and supplier Halifax Vogel are comparable to petrol and could present an “insurmountable challenge” to containing a fire.

Building materials manufacturer 3A Composites has lost a challenge to questions for a judge at an initial trial of a class action over combustible cladding, with a judge finding the issue of whether the company’s Alucobond panels were of acceptable quality was common to all group members. 

Four insurers have argued that class actions over alleged business interruption losses during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic should be de-classed, with one insurer saying group members cannot “go behind” a Full Court decision denying coverage for certain policyholders.

The corporate regulator is on a winning streak in its greenwashing cases, with a judge rejecting Active Super’s attempt to qualify its “unequivocal” statements about limiting its investment in companies connected to gambling and coal mining.

A former director of Melbourne-based developer Steller Developments has denied liquidators’ claims that he agreed to give a $120 million personal guarantee before the company went under, saying there was “not one single contemporaneous document” referring to the alleged guarantee. 

A judge has reluctantly hit Westpac with a $1.8 million penalty after the bank admitted to unconscionable conduct when trading on the morning of a $16 billion deal to privatise electricity provider Ausgrid, saying it was the maximum fine allowed under the relevant law.

A judge has granted a bid for a new mediator in a class action over allegedly combustible cladding, agreeing with the applicant that a “fresh start” may be beneficial.

A judge has found insurers must cover claims against builder LU Simon Builders over alleged combustible cladding in Melbourne’s Atlantis Towers after a judge found the owners were “obvious candidates” to bring legal action.

Real estate investment trust NorthWest can amend its pleadings in a lawsuit alleging one of the country’s largest unlisted healthcare property funds conspired to prevent it from acquiring a controlling stake, but has come up short in its bid to add to its claims against property giant Dexus.