Catherine Gleeson

Twenty-five barristers have joined the rank of silk in NSW, including one who represented AMP in a class action that settled for $100 million and another who is assisting the Commonwealth in its fight to recoup $325 million in excess subsidies in a dispute over generic Plavix.

A resident of the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community has been granted more time to decide whether he wants to bring a late bid to opt out of a class action after a $22 million settlement over PFAS contamination was approved, but a judge has warned he will face a high bar. 

A judge has rejected a bid by in-fighting group members to bar children and non-Aboriginal residents in the Wreck Bay community from receiving a cut of an approved $22 million settlement over alleged PFAS contamination.

A judge has blessed a $132.7 million settlement and a $33 million common fund order in a class action over toxic firefighting foam, saying he was “not vexed” by whether he had power to grant the funder’s payout despite the Full Court having reserved on the contentious issue. 

SkyCity has set aside $45 million for its legal costs and a possible penalty in AUSTRAC proceedings alleging it allowed $4 billion in suspicious transactions at its casino.

A union representing 54 junior doctors alleging they were systemically underpaid has defeated a bid by NSW Health to stay its case until the determination of a related class action on behalf of tens of thousands of medical officers. 

A junior doctor representing thousands of medical officers in NSW has thwarted an application by the state to declass her group proceeding, with a judge saying a “single determination” of the issues common to all group members was the most efficient way of resolving them.

A judge has approved a $450 million penalty put forward by Crown Resorts and AUSTRAC despite reservations about evidence going to the casino operator’s financial position.

The judge asked to approve a proposed $450 million penalty in AUSTRAC’s case against Crown Resorts has questioned whether the practice of regulators settling enforcement action ahead of trial gave rise to a “moral hazard” problem.

A proposed interest-free payment plan for a $450 million penalty agreed to between Crown Resorts and AUSTRAC has been questioned by a judge, who said it would have “the Commonwealth of Australia act as the Crown’s banker” for two years.