Law Firms

The Full Federal Court has found the court’s recently-affirmed power to make common fund orders at settlement means the litigation funder that backed two class actions against 7-Eleven is entitled to a $24.5 million cut from a $98 million settlement, in a decision that slammed the parties for a settlement approval process that “went off the rails”, costing group members $2.5 million.

Courts have taken differing views on whether they should order class closure, which requires group members to register for a class action, and the “deadlock” may require High Court intervention or legislative amendment to be resolved, an expert has said.

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.

The Full High Court will sit for the hearing of KPMG’s battle to transfer a Victoria class action to Sydney, as the applicant in the case raises a question as to the constitutional validity of the firm’s argument that the NSW Supreme Court is bound to keep a group costs order operative. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers has struck back at claims in a Fair Work suit brought by a graduate associate, denying liability for the alleged sexual harassment by the woman’s manager at multiple Sydney bars.

The judge overseeing Bruce Lehrmann’s failed defamation case against Network Ten has slammed as misleading comments that his judgment vindicated the broadcaster, and questioned whether the remarks disentitled it to maximum defence costs.

Bruce Lehrmann has been given extra time to file any appeal of a ruling he raped colleague Brittany Higgins but in the meantime the former political staffer must hand over information on who funded his defamation case against Network Ten, which is likely to see him on the hook for millions of dollars in costs.

A former engineer with Santos has won a bid for more time to bring a claim against the energy giant, with the Fair Work Commission finding “an error in arithmetic” by her lawyer was a reasonable explanation for the out-of-time filing.

Casino gaming giant Aristocrat may sue competitor Light & Wonder and two former employees who jumped ship for allegedly misusing confidential information about its popular Lightning Link and Dragon Link games to develop a competing product.

Workplace investigations involving unwitnessed, conflicting accounts are among the most difficult situations for an employer, but findings can still be made, despite the “common misconception” there is nothing to tip the balance, according to experts.