Stephen Free

Six of the world’s largest car makers have agreed to settle class actions accusing them of selling cars with deadly Takata airbags.

Apple plans to appeal the Full Federal Court’s decision that Epic Games’ misuse of market power lawsuit over it App Store terms should be heard in Australia because the case raises issues of “fundamental public interest”.

The federal Minister for the Environment has lost a bid to declass a class action brought over climate change risks from an expansion of the Whitehaven coal mine, with a judge making a declaration that the government owes a duty to all Australian children to protect them from global warming.

Payday lender Cigno has lost its appeal of a ruling which upheld ASIC’s first product intervention order banning the use of short-term lending models with “excessive” fees.

In a major defeat that could affect the fate of six other cases lined up behind it, a judge has dismissed the lead plaintiff’s claims in a class action against Volkswagen over deadly Takata airbags.

Video game developer Epic Games has asked the Full Federal Court to overturn an “illogical” decision sending its competition lawsuit against Apple to California, saying the move would have a “chilling effect” on the enforcement of Australia’s competition laws.

A judge has ordered the federal government to file an amended defence in one of two class actions over its use of allegedly toxic firefighting foam on military bases, after being accused of lodging a deficient pleading.

Class actions are the next battleground following Thursday’s Federal Court ruling that the government owes a duty of care to protect children from the risks of climate change, according to a number of legal experts.

The federal Minister for the Environment owes a duty of care to children who could suffer “catastrophic” harms from increased greenhouse gas emissions that would result from approving the expansion of Whitehaven’s Vickery coal mine, a judge has ruled.

A class action trial against Volkswagen over recalled Takata airbags has kicked off, with a lawyer for the car giant denying the airbags carried a safety risk and attacking as “quite absurd” the sought-after damages of 30 percent of the initial price tag of affected cars.