A judge has ordered Sydney coffee shop chain 85 Degrees to pay a $1.44 million penalty for underpayments by its franchisees, saying it cannot be seen as acceptable for franchisors to “turn a blind eye” to contraventions by franchisees.
The Australian Energy Regulator has secured a $2.75 million penalty in a case against oil and gas company Santos alleging record-keeping failures in breach of the National Gas Rules.
A judge has allowed a coal mine truck driver to bring claims as much as five years out of time against Mt Arthur Coal and Chandler Macleod over alleged bullying by a colleague, finding the delay in bringing the case was justified by a period of disability which left the worker “severely impaired in her capacity to pursue any litigation”.
A class action has argued Medibank cannot claim legal professional privilege over three Deloitte reports after disclosing them to reassure the market and customers after a massive 2022 data breach.
The judge overseeing a consumer class action against wealth manager Colonial First State Investments has given the green light to a $100 million settlement, but questioned a $23.1 million cut to funder Augusta under a “strange” funding agreement.
A judge has upheld Neurim Pharmaceutical’s claim for additional damages against two generic drug companies found to have infringed its patent for insomnia drug Circadin, despite the company’s failure to comply with an earlier ruling.
Former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann has filed an appeal of last month’s judgment that he raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House, an appeal which may fail at the first hurdle.
A judge has ordered Crown Resorts to share the costs of soft class closure with the plaintiff in a shareholder class action accusing it of lax anti-money laundering compliance, saying that soft class closure ahead of mediation was in the interests of both parties.
A judge has approved a $25 million settlement in a class action against a group of surgeons who worked for the Cosmetic Institute, including a $8.9 million payout for the lawyers that ran the seven-year-old case, saying the deduction from the settlement was reasonable given the “very significant discount” applied to the legal bill.
Approving a settlement between insurers and group members in an investor class action against lender Axsesstoday, a judge has aired his frustration with expansive confidentiality provisions and deeds that “misapprehend the nature of the court’s role” in dealing with group members’ claims.