Events

Former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann has filed an appeal of last month’s judgment that he raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House, an appeal which may fail at the first hurdle.

A judge has approved a $25 million settlement in a class action against a group of surgeons who worked for the Cosmetic Institute, including a $8.9 million payout for the lawyers that ran the seven-year-old case, saying the deduction from the settlement was reasonable given the “very significant discount” applied to the legal bill.

Approving a settlement between insurers and group members in an investor class action against lender Axsesstoday, a judge has aired his frustration with expansive confidentiality provisions and deeds that “misapprehend the nature of the court’s role” in dealing with group members’ claims. 

The Port Authority of NSW has been sued by a sand importer for allegedly acting unconscionably when it terminated a lease agreement over a development at Glebe Island in Sydney. 

ASIC has argued a recent ruling that found Noumi waived privilege over a PwC report by providing it to the regulator could dissuade people from voluntarily disclosing information during investigations and cause a “loss of public benefit” if allowed to stand. 

A Melbourne car dealer has largely lost a consumer law case against Honda Australia over its decision to abandon a dealership model, but is set to receive compensation for over 2,600 new vehicles it could have sold if Honda hadn’t ended its five-year contract early.

Law firm Atanaskovic Hartnell has argued that its alleged failure to provide updated fee estimates while acting for a company associated with investor Nicholas Bolton did not mean he is immune from paying fair and reasonable legal fees assessed at $308,940. 

Moves to restore public confidence in the government reviews process are underway after the federal Parliament passed new legislation replacing the “damaged” Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which has been criticised for failing to stop the Robodebt scheme, with a new Administrative Review Tribunal.

Noumi and ASIC are challenging a finding that the food manufacturer waived legal professional privilege over a PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by its lawyers at Ashurst by disclosing the report during an ASIC investigation.

Westpac subsidiary RAMs has been hit with a class action by former franchisees who say their agreements with the home loan provider were terminated without proper cause.