Colin Biggers & Paisley

The judge who rewarded the law firm with the lowest ever GCO proposal with carriage of an $80 million class action this week noted the competitive forces that shaped a “very good deal for group members,” but competition has its downsides, experts say.

Shareholders of failed engineering firm RCR Tomlinson have secured a $40 million settlement in a class action brought over alleged misleading ASX statements.

A judge has dismissed a suit by a former executive producer at Network Ten who claimed she was owed nearly $400,000 in severance pay under an industry award, finding the award did not apply to senior management.

A Melbourne lawyer has been found guilty of two counts of contempt of court for failing to share logins and passwords to his firm’s computer records to an auditor appointed by Victoria’s legal watchdog.

A class action against Virgin Australia has become a lawyers’ feast, with seven new firms entering the ring after a dozen insurers were joined to the action alleging the airline failed to disclose its true financial position in a $324 million capital raising prospectus.

The corporate regulator has failed in its case targeting an individual insolvency practitioner for alleged illegal phoenix activity.

A judge has directed a class action on behalf of 1,000 patients of Sydney-based plastic surgeon Daniel Lanzer and four of his associates to have another go at articulating claims that Lanzer’s clinic should be liable for allegedly ‘horrific’ complications. 

A judge’s decision that the thumbs-up emoji on a contract constitutes a valid signature is the latest court ruling to find that emojis can amount to acceptance of an offer, and serves as a warning about the downsides of the smiley face and its offspring, experts say.

Pet and livestock drug company Zoetis, which successfully defended a class action over its horse vaccine Equivac, is pressing forward with its claim against the legal team that ran the unfunded case, seeking to recover $500,000 of its $3.8 million legal bill.

A judge has largely granted a bid by port operations provider Engage Marine to obtain copies of restricted documents in the ACCC’s case against TasPorts as it mounts its own case against the government-owned body, despite noting that principles of open justice don’t dictate an “open slather” approach to documents.