A judge has briefly stayed his $76.6 million judgment against IOOF subsidiary Australian Executor Trustees over the sale of a timber plantation by the collapsed Gunns Group as AET weighs an appeal of the ruling, which dismissed its cross-claim against law firm Sparke Helmore.
Justice David Hammerschlag of the NSW Supreme Court has a way with words that readily lends itself to dramatic courtroom headlines. The “Hammer,” as he is known, also pulls no punches and is quick with one liners that keep counsel on their toes. Here, Lawyerly looks at some of the recent best moments inside courtroom 7D.
Online fashion retailer Surfstitch has reached an in-principle settlement in two shareholder class actions, about nine months after an initial agreement to resolve the dispute derailed.
IOOF says it expects to challenge a $80.6 million judgment against subsidiary Australian Executor Trustees over the sale of a timber plantation by the collapsed Gunns Group that left its law firm, Sparke Helmore, off the hook despite a finding that the firm’s advice “fell short”.
IOOF subsidiary Australian Executor Trustees has been hit with an $80.6 million judgment after breaching its duty as trustee in the sale of a 42,000 hectare timber plantation by collapsed forestry giant Gunns Group, and it can’t pass the liability on to Spark Helmore, despite the law firm’s inadequate advice.
Insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson is facing a second class action on behalf of local councils claiming it charged inflated premiums.
A judge has criticised two units of global finance firm TP ICAP Group for “unnecessary and over technical interlocutory skirmishes” as they seek damages from two employees who jumped ship to a competitor and allegedly tried to poach staff.
The parties in two shareholder class actions brought against online fashion retailer Surfstitch will make one “last, final attempt” to resolve the proceedings in mediation after a proposed settlement was thwarted by a judge last year, a court heard Friday.
An appeals court has found insurers AIG Australia and Catlin Australia have to cover part of a $6 million settlement agreed to by Bank of Queensland last year in a class action brought by investors in a multimillion dollar Ponzi scheme by jailed fraudster Bradley Sherwin.
Allianz and a number of other insurers of Dick Smith are now facing a class action over the extent of coverage under an insurance policy for the collapsed electronics retailer’s initial public offering.