A judge has told the lead plaintiff in a class action over allegedly excessive legal fees to get their “house in order”, amid complaints by the Queensland compensation law firm at the centre of the dispute that the litigation is “costing them a fortune”.
Colourful Sydney barrister Charles Waterstreet is seeking an urgent hearing to lift an “emergency” suspension imposed by the NSW Bar Association to allow him to continue working on a malicious prosecution case brought by a solicitor who was accused, and acquitted, of sexual assault by a client.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is appealing the dismissal of its case over Pactific National’s purchase of Aurizon’s Acacia Ridge Terminal in Queensland, challenging the Federal Court’s power to accept Pacific National’s last-minute promise to ensure access to the major freight terminal by competitors.
A self-described “vigilant lawyer against big companies” has attempted to make submissions regarding the costs incurred in the Sirtex shareholder class action settlement, with legal fees and funders’ commissions chewing up half of the $40 million settlement figure. Maurice Blackburn took the lead after two shareholder class actions relating to the biotech company’s revised sales…
Malaysia Airlines has reached a settlement with five Australian families whose loved ones were killed when flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian missile five years ago.
A judge has fined an Aboriginal art and souvenir supplier a total of $2.3 million after ruling that the Queensland-based company, which is now in liquidation, misled consumers about the origin of its products.
A judge has refused to separately hear an application by a Clive Palmer-controlled company to wind up a time-share scheme at Queensland’s Palmer Coolum Resort, describing the bid as an attempt by the company to avoid making admissions about its conduct, which allegedly resulted in the “death of the resort”.
Facing cross claims by Pitcher Partners in two shareholder class actions alleging the accounting firm wrongly signed off on Slater & Gordon’s financial reports ahead of a share price nosedive, the law firm and its ex-directors say they relied on the auditor to ensure the veracity of the statements.
Media companies facing defamation suits by a former youth centre detainee are liable for third-party comments posted on their Facebook pages, a judge has ruled in a groundbreaking decision.
A firm owned by solicitor Mark Elliot has launched an appeal challenging costs orders made against it in a stayed class action against winemaker Treasury Wine Estates.