Justice Michael Lee

A judge has approved a $300 million settlement in two pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson and unit Ethicon — the largest settlement in the history of Australian product liability group proceedings — but a $100 million deduction for legal costs has yet to get the greenlight. 

Boston Scientific’s $105 million settlement of a class action over its pelvic mesh devices has secured court approval, but the costs billed by the law firm running the case will face further scrutiny.

A senior barrister acting for a class action over the use of allegedly toxic firefighting foam on military bases has slammed an upcoming mediation as a “solemn farce”, as the federal government has said it will not be ready to commit to a settlement. 

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has faced cross-examination over text messages to his girlfriend in which he said he received legal advice that he could get “millions” if he filed a defamation case against Network Ten over its airing of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations, a court has heard.

The question of whether judges have the power to hear employment cases as representative proceedings is headed to the Full Court after a union raised the issue as it battles to have its underpayments case against McDonald’s run instead of a Shine Lawyers class action.

Network Ten and News Corp have mounted truth defences in response to a defamation suit by accused rapist Bruce Lehrmann, arguing the claim that he raped fellow Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019 is substantially true.

A judge has expressed “reluctance” at a bid for accused rapist Bruce Lehrmann to face cross-examination at an upcoming hearing over whether his defamation claims against Network Ten, News Corp and two journalists should be tossed for being brought out of time.

A busy judge has pushed the parties in a class action against agrochemical giant Monsanto to split the trial to focus first on the question of whether the company’s Roundup weed killer causes cancer so that he can avoid writing a judgment of “hundreds and hundreds” of pages.

Two judges on the Full Court bench hearing arguments over power to make common fund orders when approving class action settlements appeared to tip their hand on Monday, chipping away at a High Court judgment that has sowed deep division.

The Full Federal Court has set aside a $150,000 defamation judgment for sports presenter Erin Molan and remitted the matter for a new trial, after finding a judge failed to properly consider publisher the Daily Mail’s defence of contextual truth.