Judges

The top judge of the NSW Supreme Court, which has seen a precipitous drop in class actions, has defended his court and taken shots at the Supreme Court of Victoria and the Federal Court for embracing contingency fees for class action lawyers.

An appeals court has rejected oOh!media's claim that it was denied procedural fairness in a dispute with Transport for NSW, saying judges are not required to give a "running commentary" on oral submissions and that counsel must be "constantly alert" when appearing in court.

General Motors has failed to overturn a decision that put it on the hook for the applicant’s full costs in a partial settlement in a class action on behalf of Holden dealers, with an appeals court finding GM could not “walk away” from the ordinary meaning of the phrase ‘the plaintiff’s costs of the proceedings’.

A Sydney trader has brought an unfair dismissal case against CMC Markets, alleging his manager threatened his job and life after he complained about a shortfall in bonuses totalling more than $500,000.

Retiring judge Richard Button has been farewelled by the NSW Supreme Court, praised for his distinguished career and “great sense of humour”.

A judge has granted a limited stay of an injunction against US sports merchandise Fanatics after AFL merchandise maker FanFirm won its case alleging the US company knew about its ‘Fanatics’ trade marks.

The crypto platform formerly known as Be Pay Australia has settled a trade mark infringement suit by BPay after court-ordered mediation, changing its name and paying $50,000 toward the legal costs of the bill payments giant. 

The High Court has rejected an appeal by Captain Cook College of a finding that it engaged in systemic unconscionable conduct by enrolling thousands of unsuitable students, finding courts are not constrained by factors the consumer law says it "may consider" in deciding if conduct rises to the level of unconscionability.

Bond & Credit Company has lost its bid to bring a new claim in defence to $6 billion proceedings over the collapse of Greensill that alleged the financial services company failed to disclose its "moral hazard" behaviour of being dishonest with insurers.

Super Retail Group has lost a bid to suppress parts of a case by former chief legal officer and company secretary Rebecca Farrell, who says she was sacked in May following complaints of corporate goverance issues, as a second senior employee steps up to back her former colleague's claims.