Jerome Entwisle

S&P is free to pay for a Rolls-Royce defence in “Rolls-Royce litigation” that alleges the agency engaged in fraud in assigning ratings to risky financial products, a judge has said.

A class action over S&P’s rosy ratings on risky financial products faces a preliminary fight over the relevance of expert evidence that seeks to prove fraud on the part of the ratings agency.

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 court has refused leave to appeal a permanent stay of a class action run, funded and led by lawyer Andrew Hamilton against Google and Meta that challenged their crypto ad bans.

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.

Trial has been set for next May in a case by Australian parents that accuses EnergyAustralia of engaging in misleading conduct in promoting a “carbon neutral” program, a case that puts carbon offset credits under scrutiny.

ASIC has wasted no time in appealing a judge’s decision to excuse cryptocurrency product provider Block Earner from paying a civil penalty on the basis that it took advice from a leading law firm that was not seen by the court. 

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.