The son of Banksia class action funder Mark Elliott, who has been accused of complicity in a fraudulent scheme to maximise the profits of the lawyers in the case, was young and inexperienced and didn’t know his father’s conduct was wrong, his barrister has told a court.
Retail Employees Superannuation has settled a lawsuit brought by an ecological landscaper and activist over its climate change disclosures, acknowledging the need to identify the risks of climate change.
Lawyers from three newspapers being sued by war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith for defamation are seeking sensitive documents alleged to show the former soldier asked his wife to lie about an affair.
The Victoria Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit by restaurant owner and Liberal member Michelle Loielo challenging the validity of the Victoria government’s now dropped COVID-19 curfew, with a judge finding that the measure was legal and “proportionate to the purpose of protecting public health”.
Viagogo has appealed a $7 million penalty handed down after a judge found the ticket reseller had misled consumers into thinking it was an official vendor and failed to disclose booking fees of around 28 per cent.
The NSW Court of Appeal has passed on the question of whether a judge can make a common fund order when a class action settles to ensure a certain return to litigation funders, but the issue is not going away, whatever the Federal Court’s decision in a parallel case.
Accounting firm Findex has lost an appeal of a court’s judgment tossing its case against a former financial advisor, despite the court finding he had poached the company’s clients and caused $742,000 in losses.
A routine practice by the funder behind the scandal-ridden Banksia class action of deleting emails, documented in a letter by his solicitors just days before his death, isn’t consistent with the electronic record maintained in another class action in which he was involved, a court overseeing a trial in the case has heard.
The Federal Court has approved what is thought to be only the second ever audio-visual opt out notice in a class action, a move that will make it easier for group members to find out about class actions they may be eligible for.
A judge has expressed skepticism at claims by accounting firm Pitcher Partners that the lead applicant of a now dropped class action over its auditing advice to Slater & Gordon should be hit with indemnity costs for discontinuing the case.