Events

The corporate regulator has won its case against Bit Trade, the Australian provider of the Kraken crypto exchange, after a judge rejected the company’s argument that its product was not a credit facility. 

Former Liberal MP Andrew Laming has been hit with a $40,000 fine for failing to disclose that he was behind three politically motivated Facebook posts in 2018 and 2019.

A judge has allowed a law firm running a shareholder class action against medical glove maker Ansell to earn a 40 per cent contingency fee, but slashed the rate for settlements or judgments over $50 million.

A class action on behalf of 700 patients alleging assisted reproduction provider Monash IVF destroyed potentially viable embryos in a faulty genetic screening program has settled for $56 million.

Publishing reasons for refusing an application by Super Retail Group to redact parts of its former chief legal officer’s case, a judge has called out the practice of “extensive” suppression applications despite the exhortations of courts that justice must be open.

Convenience store chain On the Run is mulling proceedings against United Petroleum, which allegedly paid $120,000 to a public relations firm to run a “misleading” ad campaign accusing it of wage theft. 

A Sydney barrister and solicitor have settled a dispute over a $320,000 bill initially estimated to cost $60,000 after an appeals court found two costs agreements were void and held that courts should take a “purposive approach” to the rules governing costs disclosure obligations. 

The NSW appeals court has clarified the operation of the Uniform Law in the state, finding that insurers offering professional indemnity insurance to legal practitioners must be approved by the state’s Attorney General.

Several insurers have won a dispute with two Melbourne businesses about whether an industrial special risks policy can cover losses suffered during COVID-19 lockdowns, with a judge finding the policy did not respond just because there were recorded cases in Melbourne. 

A environmental group has lost its challenge to the extension of the Mount Pleasant open cut coal mine in NSW operated by MACH Energy, with a judge finding the planning commission considered greenhouse emissions and did not merely pay “lip service” to the issue.