For the lawyers conducting the committal hearings in the criminal cartel case over ANZ’s $2.5 billion equity raising, the Sydney Downing Centre courtroom was already too close for comfort.
AFT Pharmaceuticals has lost its challenge to a ruling that ads claiming its painkiller Maxigesic is more effective than Nuremol were misleading and deceptive, with the Full Federal Court saying the primary judge did not err in finding the ads lacked an adequate scientific basis.
HWL Ebsworth is on the hook for the legal costs of an unfair dismissal case won by ex-partner Tim Griffiths, and the law firm must pay almost two years of legal bills on an indemnity basis after it twice refused an offer of settlement.
BHP has failed in a bid to shut down a class action over the Fundao dam failure pending criminal proceedings in Brazil, with a judge ruling the mining giant would not be prejudiced if the case proceeded for now.
Australia’s second largest debt recovery agency has been ordered to pay $500,000 after the company admitted breaching Australia’s consumer laws by unduly harassing and misleading three people over debts they did not owe.
The former boss of Sydney’s 2GB and Melbourne’s 3AW radio stations, Adam Lang, has resolved his defamation case against the publisher of the Daily Telegraph over articles he claimed portrayed him as an incompetent, sadistic executive who created a toxic work atmosphere.
If contingency fees are really so bad that they should be opposed as a matter of principle, why did each of the Productivity Commission, the Victorian Law Reform Commission, and the Australian Law Reform Commission recommend their introduction? The answer is that on close analysis, the arguments against contingency fees do not bear scrutiny, says NSW barrister Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz.
The Full Federal Court has thrown out an appeal by a former special counsel of HWL Ebsworth, ruling the senior practitioner was reasonably fired for violating the firm’s media policy in press interviews and not because of his political views.
A Federal Court judge has acknowledged concerns raised by the accused in a criminal cartel case against mobility equipment provider Country Care and two employees about how an upcoming jury trial will proceed if the coronavirus pandemic worsens, telling the parties the court had already taken measures to control the spread of the virus.
A judge has given his blessing to a $49.7 million settlement of two class actions that alleged infant food maker Bellamy’s misled investors about its China growth strategy and declining market share in Australia.