A Federal Court judge has ordered that a referee consider how junior barristers were used in assessing the legal costs in an insurance class action against Westpac which the bank has agreed to pay up to $30 million to settle.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is resisting a novel proposal by ASIC to use its CommBank app to notify 6.3 million customers of a $7 million fine against it for overcharging interest, saying the move would pose a “significant risk” to the public.
A judge has urged parties in a class action against Westpac over superannuation fees to hold an in-person mediation, saying that success rates have “plummeted” during the COVID-19 pandemic as more settlement talks are held virtually.
A judge has found he has power to order that opt out notices be sent to a limited number of Boral shareholders eligible to join two class actions that faced off last month in a class action beauty parade.
Hoping to avoid a lengthy trial like the 89-day hearing in the pelvic mesh class action against Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon, a judge has suggested splitting up a class action hearing over TFS Manufacturing and IVS pelvic mesh products to focus on the question of the devices’ safety and efficacy first.
A $138 million class action settlement with IAG over alleged junk insurance will go ahead after a judge found he was “bereft” of power to vary his prior approval judgment and include late opt out bids by group members that threatened to derail the agreement last month.
News Corp and journalist Annette Sharp will have to pay the legal costs of Sydney lawyer Christopher Murphy who won a $110,000 judgment in his defamation case against the publisher, despite the lawyer rejecting an $120,000 offer to settle the case.
The half-brother and manager of NBA star Ben Simmons has filed defamation proceedings against his half-sister over a barrage of tweets accusing him of sexually molesting her when she was a child.
A judge has urged the parties in two pelvic mesh class actions against Boston Scientific to come up with a “pragmatic solution” to the competing proceedings filed in the Federal and NSW Supreme courts.
High profile criminal lawyer Christopher Murphy has been awarded a $110,000 judgment in his defamation case over a “gossipy and intrusive” Daily Telegraph article which a judge found had damaged the lawyer’s professional reputation.