Piper Alderman

The settlement of the Discovery Metals investor class action against KPMG has experienced another setback, after scheme administrator Grant Thornton flagged a potential conflict of interest in acting as a costs contradictor over Piper Alderman’s controversial $3.5 million legal bill.

A judge has refused to approve Piper Alderman’s $3.5 million in legal fees charged for running a class action against KPMG, appointing Grant Thornton as contradictor and giving the auditor the ability to seek assistance from the court for any future disputes about the controversial bill.

Sparke Helmore has refuted allegations by IOOF subsidiary Australian Executor Trustees (SA) that it failed to provide proper legal advice to the trustee on a 2012 pine plantation sale that left 4,500 investors without millions of dollars worth of assets.

IOOF subsidiary Australian Executor Trustees (SA) is facing an $82 million claim for compensation by investors angered by the way the trustee handled the sale of a 42,000 hectare timber plantation run by collapsed forestry giant Gunns Group.

Three shareholder class actions against RCR Tomlinson have been allowed to continued, setting up a class action beauty contest over who will lead the litigation against the failed engineering company.

Shareholders of troubled sandalwood producer Quintis who are eligible group members in two consolidated class actions against the company can bet on which of the two cases will give them the best returns, if any, and the Federal Court has appointed an independent lawyer to help them make the choice.

Failed sandalwood oil producer Quintis has agreed to hand over insurance policies showing any coverage for potential liability it or its former CEO may have in two class actions brought against them.

Airtasker has succeeded in opposing a competitor’s application to trade mark the phrase ‘Like a Boss’, which the popular gig marketplace used in a long-running ad campaign.

Noting the relevant three-year limitations provision was “quite unusal”, the judge overseeing a consumer class action against horse vaccine manufacturer Zoetis has given the class a chance to add a second applicant to the case, after it was revealed that part of the lead applicant’s claim was out of time. 

A senior Piper Alderman partner who has launched a sex discrimination case against the law firm rejected “reasonable settlement offers” that would have allowed her to leave the partnership on a “dignified basis”, counsel for the firm has told a court.