The Federal Court is pushing ahead with an expedited trial in Icon Co’s case against Liberty Mutual Insurance and QBE over the Opal Tower disaster, just one month after originally scheduled, and it’s going online to do it.
A judge has ordered ASIC to wait 48 hours after making any decision to send a warning notice to investment conglomerate Mayfair 101 before publicly issuing the notice, despite the regulator’s call for urgent action amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
After almost five years of litigation, a Federal Court judge said he will approve a $127.1 million settlement of five class actions against Volkswagen over the diesel emissions scandal, but appeared unwilling to sign off on a 25 per cent uplift in fees sought by one of the plaintiffs firms.
The litigation funder controlled by recently deceased class action lawyer Mark Elliott has lost its bid for a 12.5 per cent commission of a $5.5 million settlement secured by the special purpose receivers of Banksia Securities in its claim against the collapsed firm’s former insurance broker.
The judge overseeing the $212.5 million settlement in three toxic foam class actions against the Commonwealth of Australia has been told of at least one objection to the deal and has flagged difficulties taking submissions from opposing group members at an upcoming approval hearing.
The hunt for the missing Blackberry of deceased class action lawyer and funder Mark Elliott is over, and the located phone will now be examined by IT experts to see if it can be searched for potential evidence to be used as part of an investigation of alleged professional misconduct by the legal team behind a class action against failed Banksia Securities.
A judge has ordered the Rinehart family to enter mediation in their feud over a $4 billion trust, saying it was “overwhelmingly in the interests of the administration of justice” to seek an end to the long-running and bitter dispute.
Group members in two settled class actions against clothing retailer Surfstitch have been told the settlement amount available to them has plummeted amid a “very difficult retail environment”.
The judge overseeing the trial in a trade secrets case brought by Australian auto electronics developer Directed Electronics OE against its rivals is considering how the cross-examination of witnesses will proceed given current restrictions imposed on gatherings due to the coronavirus, including in the event of a possible lockdown.
National Australia Bank and HSBC, which are suing the liquidators of collapsed retailer Dick Smith to recoup over $125 million in loans, have successfully fought off a bid by two former company directors for a series of financial reports.