Industries

The judge overseeing a class action against Monsanto over its weed killer has rejected the agrochemical giant’s application to amend the common questions to be decided at a liability trial to account for its alternative defence.

A court has ordered the estate of Frank Wilson, founder of failed sandalwood producer Quintis, to be sequestered in a claim brought by Quintis subsidiary Arwon to recover an unpaid $15 million debt. 

A judge has expressed her concern over delays in a suite of cases filed against P&O Cruises by holidaymakers who were seriously injured in a fatal bus collision in Vanuatu in 2016.

Telstra and TPG have lost their challenge to the ACCC’s decision refusing authorisation for a $1.8 billion regional network sharing agreement, with the Australian Competition Tribunal finding the deal would increase Telstra’s dominance in the mobile phone market. 

The applicant in a class action against Blue Sky Alternative Investments and auditor EY has raised an “often overlooked” principle to challenge the separate legal representation of two of the company’s directors, dodging applications for almost $15 million in security – for now.

A judge has approved a $29 million settlement in a class action against Westpac over ‘junk’ consumer credit insurance, a deal that earns the bank’s customers at least $19.6 million. 

Insurer Atradius has lost its bid to keep under wraps information supporting its application to publicly examine three KordaMentha directors about their administration of the Arrium Group after a judge found it would not prejudice a similar bid in related proceedings. 

A judge has admonished a class action applicant over continuing delays in a four-year-old class action against NAB which he said “should not be allowed to languish any longer”.

The growing use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT could shake up the landscape of intellectual property laws in Australia, and novel questions posed by the technology are likely to be answered in the courts before regulators step in, lawyers say.

A judge has declined to hear an interlocutory stoush about the scope of a shareholder class action against engineering company Worley before an upcoming trial, saying the case, which has been on foot since 2015 and was appealed to the High Court, needed “some finality”.