Judges

A judge overseeing two class actions against Romeo’s has ditched what has become the commonplace hearing in weighing a settlement of the cases, but experts say approval applications in group proceedings should ideally be heard in open court.

A former business development manager at Flick has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the pest control giant, alleging a string of incidents involving a senior employee that began during her interview, and an inadequate complaints process that repeatedly dismissed and downplayed her concerns. 

Former Liberal power broker Marcus Bastiaan has accused Nine Entertainment of hiding behind “the cloak of journalistic professional privilege” in refusing to provide documentary evidence concerning the production of an alleged defamatory 60 Minutes report.

Judgment day has arrived in a legal battle over the $420 million sale of the Joe White malt business so epic four silks on the case were elevated to judgeships during its long run, but losing party Viterra has not ruled out an appeal.

Food giant Cargill Australia has won its lawsuit against Glencore-owned Viterra alleging it misrepresented the performance capabilities of malt producer Joe White when it sold the company for $420 million in 2013.

Liberal MP Andrew Laming has slammed the Nine Network for attempting to “bully and harass” him with its contextual truth defence to his lawsuit over an allegedly defamatory news segment that accused the Queensland politician of taking a lewd photograph.

A judge who has been an enthusiastic lab rat in the virtual hearing experiment forced on the country's courts by the COVID-19 pandemic has expressed doubts that he is accurately reading witnessses giving remote evidence.

An appeals court has unanimously rejected the Commissioner of Taxation’s latest bid to block Shell’s $2.3 billion tax deduction for the cost of exploration activities conducted as part of the Browse LNG project off the coast of Western Australia.

A judge has suggested that a class action against the New South Wales government over a mandate requiring healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 should be de-classed, saying it was a “straightforward point” because no financial relief was sought.

The Federal Court has issued a worldwide freezing order over the assets of Bill Papas' partner, which includes the proceeds of the $1.13 million sale of her home in Sydney's inner west.