Law Firms

The former head of legal for the West Gate Tunnel project has sued toll road operator Transurban, alleging she was made redundant after complaining about “a culture of fear and intimidation” on the project.

A court has dismissed a bid to temporarily halt the demolition of three public housing towers in inner city Melbourne as a class action pursues the Victorian government over its decision to redevelop the sites.

A judge has refused to redact a judgment signing off on the discontinuance of several product claims in a class action against three AMP subsidiaries after the applicant failed to gather the required evidence, saying it was not enough that the reasons “may be an embarrassment to people who commenced the proceeding”. 

In a win for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, a court has found Dominique Grubisa’s DG Institute made misleading statements to students who paid up to $9,000 to enrol in her property investment and wealth management programs.

A judge has ruled that HWL Ebsworth invalidly expelled a former capital partner, finding that the expulsion, which prevented him from participating in a planned float of the firm on the ASX, breached the partnership deed. 

Leading lawyers have welcomed a new practice note in the Commercial Court division of the Victorian Supreme Court, including a “rigid framework” to cut down on interlocutory disputation which is expected to benefit commercial class action litigants, but some say the note “should have gone further” to compel discovery from defendants.

A hearing in a class action to determine the extent of lost sales suffered by cattle exporters following a ban on live exports has been set down for April next year, making the case the oldest unresolved class action on the Federal Court docket.

Cross-border technology expert Lisa Fitzgerald has joined Norton Rose Fulbright from Lander & Rogers, bringing her expertise in media, telecommunications, privacy and intellectual property to the firm.

Sydney hospitality mogul Justin Hemmes has sued a Brisbane restaurant, Establishment 203, claiming it has breached its ‘Establishment’ trade mark and failed to carry out any searches before opening its business under the name. 

A judge has questioned the relevance of an ex-Seven producer’s “sordid” evidence that the network rewarded him after using company funds to buy sex workers for the accused rapist Bruce Lehrmann, saying both sides had made strong arguments against his and Brittany Higgins’ credibility.