Hearing arguments Tuesday on whether lawyers should be permitted to earn contingency fees in Federal Court class actions, judges on a Full Court bench appeared to lean in favour of allowing so-called solicitors’ common fund orders, rejecting claims they are “unjust”.
The liquidators of collapsed engineering company Hastie Group have lost their bid to appeal a decision that knocked out half its $120 million case against Multiplex, Lendlease and numerous other builders.
A judge has granted leave to law firm Levitt Robinson to challenge a ruling cutting $1.14 million of its fees from a settled class action against retirement home operator Aveo, finding the appeal was sufficiently arguable.
Seeking leave to challenge a decision that shaved $1.14 million from its costs in running a class action against Aveo, Levitt Robinson has argued the firm would have enjoyed a right of appeal if it had been joined to the case as it ought to have been.
The law firm and funder that ran a class action against Retail Food Group on behalf of current and former franchisees of its Michel’s Patisserie chain will be out of pocket, after the company agreed to a settlement under which it will pay nothing.
Jemena Gas has lost its bid for a court to determine a preliminary question in a case by billboard company Manboom that claims the presence of underground gas infrastructure at a site in Mascot, NSW that supplies gas to 1.6 million customers amounts to trespassing.
Fashion retailer Mosaic Brands has flagged various COVID-related defences to a case brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleging it failed to deliver several hundred thousand products to customers within advertised time frames.
In a loss for the Australian Taxation Office, an appeals court has found that the Liberty Group’s use of corporate and trust ‘silos’ was not an unlawful tax avoidance scheme.
Aussie Skips is fighting a court’s ruling that imposed a $3.5 million penalty against the waste company and sentenced its boss to an 18-month intensive corrections order, in a criminal cartel case that also implicated Bingo Industries.
Honda has admitted that it owes compensation to a Melbourne car dealer for a deliberate breach of contract following its decision to ditch a dealership model in Australia, but argues a $22 million damages claim by the dealer needs a “reality check”.