Judgment

The Full Federal Court has answered a question vexing the court for the past four years, ruling that class action judges have the power to make common fund orders at settlement that allow litigation funders to reap a percentage commission beyond their contractual entitlement. 

A judge has declined a union’s bid to throw out an employee class action against McDonald’s after the Full Federal Court confirmed that employee class actions are not precluded by the Fair Work Act. 

A Federal Court judge’s endorsement of the novel idea of a ‘solicitors’ common fund order’ may reverse the trend of class action lawyers running to the Supreme Court of Victoria, where they can earn a contingency fee, to file their cases.

A judge has awarded carriage of a class action against Jaguar Land Rover over allegedly defective diesel filters to a law firm that won a similar case against another car maker, saying the firm’s experience was not a “neutral factor”.

Wealth manager Escala Partners has failed in its bid to restrain two senior financial advisors who defected to rival Crestone from working in wealth management and soliciting its clients.

A decision by federal environment minister Tanya Pibersek to greenlight the extension of two mega coal mines in NSW was “legally open” to her, a judge has ruled, despite acknowledging the “existential threat” of climate change. 

A nose job patient who allegedly defamed his surgeon has been hit with indemnity costs after refusing the surgeon’s “exceptionally generous” offer to settle.

A judge has dismissed a Paralympian cyclist’s defamation suit over a Facebook comment by a former girlfriend, finding he suffered no serious harm from the comment, which accused him of lying about his disability.

A judge has denied Fairfax’s bid to strike out allegations by a Western Australian businessman that it was the publisher of allegedly defamatory comments that appeared on one of its Facebook pages.

Two law firms that were able to “work cooperatively” to join their cases have been awarded carriage of a shareholder class action against mining firm Downer EDI. The judge overseeing the proceedings also approved a group costs order application that proposed a “reasonable rate” of return to the firms.