Judges

A court has overturned a decision that franchisees bringing a class action against United Petroleum should be spared a security for costs order, saying there wasn't enough evidence to conclude that the case would otherwise be stifled.

A judge has allowed Aristocrat to appeal a judge's rejection of its application to patent its Lightning Link poker machine, citing novel questions raised by an equally split High Court decision about the patentability of its invention.

An appeals court has found that a judge was not justified in dismissing a negligence case by a call centre worker who left her job over abusive phone calls, saying the judge failed to engage with the issues needed to decide the dispute.

A judge has criticised the pleadings in class actions against ANZ, Macquarie and Westpac over flexible commission schemes for car dealers, saying they were "inappropriate and unhelpful" in referring to documents in the banking royal commission. 

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation will pay $2.84 million in damages for losses incurred by concert organisers for the cancellation of the 2020 Melbourne Formula One cup and a related Robbie Williams concert during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A former EY partner and ousted board member at National Tiles has been ordered to pay indemnity costs after he lost a $1 million share dispute with the flooring company, with a judge finding he "unreasonably failed" to accept a settlement offer. 

A contradictor appointed to represent group members' interests in relation to a $100 million settlement in a class action against AMP wants to shave $2.6 million off the funder’s cut, telling the court that deductions for ATE insurance and administrative fees should not be approved.

A ruling this week that kept intact a contingency fee rate of 27.5 per cent sought by Slater & Gordon to run a shareholder class action against G8 Education might encourage law firms to seek higher percentage payouts at the outset of group proceedings in Victoria.

Seven Network has told a court 13 women have come forward with complaints about television reporter Robert Ovadia since his dismissal in June.

Carnival PLC has denied that a passenger, whose husband contracted COVID-19 and had to be put on a ventilator, had a “horrible” time aboard the ill-fated Ruby Princess, in a class action’s appeal of a finding that she was only entitled to $4,000 in damages.