Law Firms

The judge overseeing two competing class actions against Google has issued a warning to law firms that agree to team up and work on a class action together, saying that in other markets such arrangements might be viewed as “something akin to a cartel”.

A class action by investors in a Melbourne apartment develpment has resolved for $2.6 million, but the law firm bringing the case will take a haircut on its fees after group members ignored calls to contribute to the costs.

An email to lawyers at Clifford Chance relied on to show investor Fiona Lock’s understanding of a contested $150 million profit sharing deal with trading platform Pepperstone did not open the door to further correspondence.

Fonterra may face a class action for allegedly underpaying lab technicians since 2018, as the dairy co-op seeks to offload its Australian food unit.

A bid by the parties for the court to determine legal costs in a successful case over the $55 million sale of a Queensland shopping centre has left a judge scratching his head.

Insurance Australia Limited and Insurance Manufacturers of Australia have denied a class action's claims that they misled insurance customers about loyalty discounts by calculating their premiums using an algorithm designed to maximise renewals. 

Mortgage broker Lendi Group and insurer ALI Group want a proceeding on behalf of tens of thousands of Aussie Home Loans customers to be stripped of class action status.

A judge has said that asset preservation orders are likely warranted against the former head of collapsed builder Quasar Constructions, after its liquidator revealed he sold $24 million in property interests shortly before the company went under, but found he did not have power to make the orders. 

Former Victorian Liberal Party leader John Pesutto has been hit with a bankruptcy notice after failing to pay $2.3 million in costs in MP Moira Deeming’s defamation suit over statements implying she had links to neo-Nazis. 

Penalty proceedings in ASIC's case against coal producer TerraCom have been put on ice until the regulator’s suit against the company’s directors goes to trial.