Events

A court has given the green light to BHP’s bid to extend a Queensland coal mine over the objections of an environmental lobby group, saying the court’s acceptance of climate change did not mean it would reject all applications for fossil fuel projects.

The Full Court has clarified that a prior bad reputation is relevant to determining whether a defamation plaintiff has suffered serious harm, tossing an appeal by a Sydney lawyer who lost her case over an article related to her conviction for an alleged $16,000 scam at David Jones, which was later overturned.

A group of surgeons who worked for The Cosmetic Institute are set to pay $25 million to settle a class action brought on behalf of 13,500 patients who claim they were injured by botched breast augmentation surgery.

A commercial leader at engineering and construction company Laing O’Rourke was unfairly dismissed over false claims he was offensive and aggressive towards Stayz hosts who complained about a late night work party, a judge has found.

A judge has found that former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins in ex-defence minister Linda Reynolds’ ministerial office, saying he was “indifferent to her consent”, despite finding both witnesses had credit issues. 

A judge has criticised a Network Ten solicitor who signed off on former presenter Lisa Wilkinson’s Logies speech, given on the eve Bruce Lehrmann’s criminal trial, saying she had failed to appreciate her duties to the court.

The High Court has agreed to hear a case with implications for law firms that represent themselves in litigation, granting an appeal application by media mogul Bruce Gordon, a former client of Sydney firm Atanaskovic Hartnell.

The liquidators for Halifax Investment Services were justified in reaching a compromise settlement in proceedings against King & Wood Mallesons alleging the firm and former auditor Bentleys failed to advise the defunct stockbroker that it had to hold client funds used to trade on its online platform on trust, a judge has found.

Investment manager IOOF has failed to persuade a judge that the applicant in a failed shareholder class action should face indemnity costs for rejecting a $6 million offer to settle the case.

The majority shareholders of vitamin giant Nature’s Care have been hit with the costs of the company’s failed bid for an injunction against its founding family, after a judge found the shareholders appear to have caused proceedings to be commenced as part of a strategy to “override the rights” of the family.