Judges

A judge has found that Heran Group unit York Property can't call on $6.4 million in bank guarantees after finding builder Tomkins has a strong prima facie case that a $17.5 million payment certificate issued under contract to build a 119-Gold Coast residential tower was not authorised.

A court has found that the relationship between the owner and the developer behind a residential subdivision project in Onkaparinga Heights has deteriorated to such a degree that orders requiring them not to abandon the partnership would be of no help. 

A judge has allowed a 50 per cent fee uplift for counsel in an epic fight over lucrative tenements in the Pilbara region, but says the hourly fees of solicitors from the likes of Allens, Clayton Utz and Corrs were already well above market rate.

Credit Suisse has dropped its claim for indemnity against insurance agent BCC under a trade credit policy issued prior to Greensill Capital’s collapse in 2021, with a judge hearing the admission marks a "complete u-turn in the case".

An application by the funder of a class action over the compulsory acquisition of land for Sydney's WestConnex project to replace the plaintiffs has been ajourned a third time by an increasingly frustrated judge.

Former Keybridge CEO Nicholas Bolton has faced questions about a $4.75 million bonus he was paid on a $17.8 million deal with fund manager Magellan, on the second day of trial in proceedings by WAM over two transactions its alleges were oppressive to shareholders.

ASX Limited has told a judge it did not intend to mislead shareholders when it told the market that its CHESS replacement project was “progressing well” and that a $20.5 million penalty was sufficient to achieve deterrence.

Logistics company Brambles has followed through on plans to challenge its landmark loss in a shareholder class action, setting the stage for further appellate court guidance in securities cases, which once routinely settled.

A judge has pushed off an eight-week trial in a class action on behalf of Sydney homeowners who allege their homes are sinking into the ground, after filing deadlines were not complied with. 

ASIC has won its case alleging Regional Express failed to correct an optimistic forecast before it entered administration last year, but failed to prove the company's optimism conveyed a "likelihood" or that three non-executive directors had actual knowledge of the collapsed budget airline's declining business.