Construction

A judge has ordered Transport for NSW to only pay 65 per cent of the costs of a class action over Sydney’s $3 billion light rail construction, finding it was not inappropriate to apportion costs even though the plaintiffs were largely successful.

A judge has refused to allow an owners corporation to serve late expert evidence in its case against developer Mirvac over alleged defects in a Sydney apartment complex, saying a solicitor’s explanation about “competing commitments” was inadequate and “a circumstance shared by most members of the legal profession”.

McCullough Robertson has snagged a partner from HWL Ebsworth to join the firm’s construction and infrastructure team in Sydney.

A judge has approved a $40 million settlement in a shareholder class action against collapsed engineering firm RCR Tomlinson, with almost half of the settlement to go towards a funder’s commission and legal fees. 

The co-owners of Pacific Werribee shopping centre in Victoria have largely won their bid for insurance documents as they weigh a second case against collapsed construction company, allegedly worth up to $335 million. 

A class action over the Victorian government’s decision to retire Melbourne’s high rise public housing towers has agreed to drop claims against the state of Victoria and the minister for housing after a judge threw out the claims but allowed the class action to replead.

A Larrakia Danggalaba man has sought access to documents for a possible lawsuit over the federal government’s decision to greenlight the destruction of an Aboriginal cultural site to develop Defence housing. 

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. 

A judge has left open the question of whether a line of authority relating to the materiality of information under the continuous disclosure regime could be relevant to a stoush between collapsed engineering firm Forge Group and Clough Group, saying the decisions may apply to cases alleging breaches of the insider trading provisions of the Corporations Act.

The liquidators of collapsed engineering company Hastie Group have lost their bid to appeal a decision that knocked out half its $120 million case against Multiplex, Lendlease and numerous other builders.