Richard McHugh

Hospitality giant Merivale has reached a revised settlement in an employment class action, five months after the lead applicant’s unusual move to renege on an earlier deal.

The NSW legal community has welcomed to the bench the newest Supreme Court judge, Richard McHugh, who reflected on his good fortune in a ceremony on Tuesday and vowed to try, at least, not to get grumpy.

A leading commercial barrister who was one the of the founding members of Banco Chambers has been appointed as a judge on the NSW Court of Appeal.

In a highly unusual move, the applicant in an employment class action against hospitality giant Merivale has reneged on an $18 million settlement, saying a jump in group member registration since the deal was struck means the sum would no longer win court approval.

The corporate regulator is appealing a judgment that tossed its landmark action against Austo & General Insurance, saying the judge erred in construing an unclear and disproportionate term in the insurer’s house and contents policy.

A judge has dismissed the corporate regulator’s first-ever case over unfair insurance contracts terms, finding it was not unfair for an insurer to require customers to notify it if anything changed about their home or its contents.

Merivale will fork over $18 million in a proposed settlement to resolve an employment class action against the hospitality giant, of which $8.6 million is sought to be deducted in legal fees and a funder’s commission.

Hospitality giant Merivale has agreed to settle an underpayments class action alleging it failed to pay workers amounts owed for overtime hours worked.

A judge has dismissed court proceedings brought by the corporate regulator against superannuation trustee Diversa over its alleged failure to oversee a now-banned financial adviser, ruling that the knowledge of downstream entities could not be attributed to Diversa.

A judge has said that an underpayments class action’s challenge to hospitality giant Merivale’s argument that it does not owe back wages because it relied on an enterprise agreement it believed was valid should be heard before trial.