Barristers

A class action against Aveo Group has settled for $11 million mid trial, with the law firm that brought the case expressing regret for any “distress or anxiety” it caused and acknowledging the retirement village provider’s contracts with residents were lawful. 

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has lost its bid to avoid producing documents to Bianca Rinehart and John Hancock after a judge rejected arguments the Rinehart children were abusing the court’s processes in a long-running dispute over ownership of a valuable mining tenement.

The Full Court has found that a policy exclusion applies in a dispute between Acciona Infrastructure and Ferrovial Construction and three insurers over coverage for loss and damage caused by heavy rainfall during the construction of the $695 million Pacific Highway in northern New South Wales.

An appeals court has partially sided with Toyota in a challenge to the damages bill assessed by a judge in a class action over defective diesel filters, saying the reduction in value of affected cars should be assessed at 10 per cent, not 17.5 per cent, of the price paid by motorists.

A judge overseeing a competition class action against Queensland power companies Stanwell and CS Energy has warned that judges need to be inventive in how they manage large group proceedings, otherwise the “system will collapse”.

In a class action long delayed by a battle over foreign shareholders, BHP Group has finally filed a defence, denying it misled shareholders over a failed Brazilian dam and saying knowledge about the risk of collapse cannot be imputed to the Melbourne-headquartered energy giant.

A judge overseeing a $129 million underpayments class action against hospitality giant Merivale has rejected a bid for a second round of opt out notices, finding that even if the first round went straight to employees’ junk or spam folders, it did not follow that they had not been read.

An investor class action has reached a settlement with four former directors of defunct Linchpin Capital, leaving only allegations against AIG Insurance, which is allegedly seeking to withdraw an admission that directors were insured under a D&O policy. 

A group member in a class action against J&J unit Depuy International can receive compensation for out of pocket expenses associated with an alleged defective knee implant, despite having been paid by WorkSafe Victoria, a court has found.

The insurers of Blue Sky Alternative Investments are fighting a bid to be joined to a consolidated investor class action against the company and its auditor, EY.