Judges

A Federal Court judge’s endorsement of the novel idea of a ‘solicitors’ common fund order’ may reverse the trend of class action lawyers running to the Supreme Court of Victoria, where they can earn a contingency fee, to file their cases.

A judge has awarded carriage of a class action against Jaguar Land Rover over allegedly defective diesel filters to a law firm that won a similar case against another car maker, saying the firm’s experience was not a “neutral factor”.

A second law firm is likely to throw its hat in the ring to run a competing class action against Qantas over flight cancellations in the COVID-19 pandemic, but a judge has made orders trying to side-step a carriage fight, criticising them as “wasteful and expensive”. 

Wealth manager Escala Partners has failed in its bid to restrain two senior financial advisors who defected to rival Crestone from working in wealth management and soliciting its clients.

The future of a competition class action against AGL Energy is in doubt after being abandoned by its funder, despite evading the energy supplier’s bid to dismiss the case.

With bated breath class action litigators and funders have waited for this day, when the Full Federal Court decides the question of power to make common fund orders at settlement. They aren’t the final arbiters, but the judges’ ruling may be no less important for that.

A decision by federal environment minister Tanya Pibersek to greenlight the extension of two mega coal mines in NSW was “legally open” to her, a judge has ruled, despite acknowledging the “existential threat” of climate change. 

A judge has approved the settlement of a class action brought on behalf of sovereign bondholders over the disclosure of climate change risks, despite a late scrap with the government over whether the deal puts a stop to future cases.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is seeking to restrain payday lenders Cigno and BSF Solutions from enforcing loan fees against 10,000 customers.

A nose job patient who allegedly defamed his surgeon has been hit with indemnity costs after refusing the surgeon’s “exceptionally generous” offer to settle.