Justice Jonathan Beach

A judge has quashed the OAIC’s decision to reject a second class action-style complaint filed over the massive Optus data breach, finding the Privacy Act does not bar second-in-time proceedings. 

A judge has ordered soft class closure ahead of mediation in a class action against five major banks over alleged foreign exchange rate-rigging, saying the applicant’s subjective view on what will assist mediation should not be imposed on the banks.

A judge has questioned the applicant’s opposition to soft class closure in a class action accusing five major banks of rate-rigging, a measure the banks say could save “tens of millions” in legal expenses. 

A judge has dismissed a bid by Medibank to restrain the Office of Australian Information Commissioner from proceeding with a class action-style complaint on behalf of millions of the private health insurer’s customers affected by an October 2022 data breach.

Instagram is planning to hit Dialogue Consulting with a cross-claim that accuses the Melbourne social media start-up of breaching US law related to the protection of users’ data and engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct.

Two firms have agreed to consolidate their class actions against online trading platform IG Markets over risky CFDs, but the company failed in a bid to have the two funders behind the cases liable for 100% of any security for costs order lest one funder defaults.

Mercedes-Benz dealers have appealed a judgment that found their $650 million lawsuit against the luxury car maker over its decision to move to a fixed-price agency model tried to “rewrite the contractual bargain” they had agreed to in order to better suit their commercial interests.

Apple has failed to prevent a funder from accessing data that will allow it to estimate potential damages in a class action it’s bankrolling over allegedly anti-competitive app store restrictions.

A judge has criticised Tesla’s bid for an urgent arrest warrant against a NSW man who allegedly published material leaked by a former employee about its self-driving software, saying the man needs the chance to properly respond to the electric car giant’s contempt of court claim. 

Judges were not afraid to vent their spleen in 2023, but lawyers were not the only object of judicial scorn last year, as judges waded into public discourse and sounded off over issues including complex legislation, media reports, famous social media commentators, and the involvement of government departments in legal proceedings.