Justice Reginald Barrett

HWL Ebsworth is on the hook for the legal costs of an unfair dismissal case won by ex-partner Tim Griffiths, and the law firm must pay almost two years of legal bills on an indemnity basis after it twice refused an offer of settlement.

A class action alleging travel agency Scenic Tours owes damages to European cruise passengers forced to take buses when heavy rain flooded waterways is still proceeding despite an impending High Court appeal, with the tour company now seeking to argue in an amended defence that class members could not reasonably rely on it to control water levels.