A $13.5 million settlement has been reached in a Gadens-led class action against former Quintis director Frank Wilson, and the funder of a rival class action is preparing to seek a chunk of the sum in what a judge has called a “most unusual circumstance”.
Transurban has settled a lawsuit by the former head of legal for its West Gate Tunnel project alleging she was made redundant after complaining about a “culture of fear and intimidation on the project”.
A class action has lost its appeal to the High Court in a case alleging Advanta Seeds owed damages to farmers for the economic loss resulting from its negligence in producing contaminated grain sorghum seed, with the justices clarifying that a duty of care may be established only if responsibility is assumed.
A judge has ordered public relations firm the Civic Partnership to hand over documents revealing the identity of the client behind an allegedly misleading ad campaign accusing convenience store chain On The Run of wage theft.
The Full Court is set to weigh in on whether judges who make adverse findings on credibility during the liability phase of a hearing should recuse themselves from determining penalty, an issue which a judge has said may require a new court protocol.
A unit of construction company Fletcher Building has been hit with a class action over its Pro-Fit pipes, which have been blamed by Western Australian builder BGC for plumbing failures in thousands of Perth homes.
As the Fair Work Commission takes its plan to appoint an administrator to the construction division of the CFMEU to court, a judge has recused himself from hearing the case after acting against the union while at the bar.
A judge has signed off on a $23.1 million cut for funder Augusta of a $100 million settlement in a class action against Colonial First State, which he previously called “strange” and said may not reflect the risk the funder shared with Slater & Gordon in running the case.
Car park operator Secure Parking has been hit with a $10.95 million penalty for misleading consumers in major cities about its car reservation service, causing them to be late or miss appointments and work commitments entirely.
IP Australia has rejected an Italian cheese lobby’s bid to block an American cheese maker from using a trade mark containing the word ‘asiago’, saying there was “very little evidence” Australians were aware of the cheese at all.