Judges

A judge has ruled that the trustee for Dexus' airport fund is justified in challenging a court decision that forces a compulsory sale of a $4.5 billion interest in the operator of Melbourne Airport.

A judge has approved a $550 million settlement in a class action over the Morrison government’s Robodebt scheme but has halved a funder’s payout to $35 million, despite arguments that it was unprecedented to award a single digit percentage commission. 

A judge has shot down a bid to add a negligence claim to a class action on behalf of Queensland motorists over allegedly excessive toll charges, finding allegations the government owed a duty of care were likely to be struck out.

Advice platform JustAnswer has agreed to a $10 million penalty in the consumer’s watchdog’s case accusing the company of duping customers into signing up for expensive monthly subscriptions.

The funder that backed a class action over the Morrison government’s Robodebt scheme, which settled for a record $548.5 million, is seeking a $71 million commission, but a contradictor has told the court a $23 million cut will suffice.

A judge has sounded the alarm bell about regulators launching appeals to re-litigate enforcement proceedings, in a recent decision tossing the corporate cop's appeal in a case against insurer HCF Life.

Logistics company Brambles has lost its bid to pause costs orders while it prepares an appeal of the first post-trial win for a shareholder class action, while also flagging a bid to stay determination of group member claims.

Baggage handling company Alstef Australia says the operator of Brisbane Airport is not entitled to call on $13.4 million in bank guarantees, claiming it is owed $32 million in a dispute over a baggage system upgrade at the airport’s domestic terminal.

An appeals court has shot down a challenge to a valuation for the country’s largest solar farm and said the Land Valuation Act should be amended to clarify the definition of an ‘urban purpose.’

The liquidators of a NSW coal mine formerly owned by Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance have applied to the court to disclaim a deed under which GFG paid handsome royalties to former owner Glencore.