Wotton Kearney

The High Court has unanimously dismissed Western Power’s challenge to a judgment which found the state-owned electricity supplier breached its duty of care to inspect power poles on private land and was partly liable for property damage from the 2014 Perth Hills bushfire.

A judge has approved a confidential settlement in a class action on behalf of 383 apartment owners in Sydney’s Opal Tower but slashed the amount sought by the funder.

The litigation funder bankrolling a class action on behalf of 383 apartment owners in Sydney’s troubled Opal Tower is seeking a 26 per cent commission totalling $13.2 million of the confidential settlement sum, a court has heard. 

A $13 million commission sought by the funder that bankrolled the Opal Tower class action is stalling settlement approval, as debate continues over whether the funder can recoup the costs of after-the-event insurance from group members.

Property owners are fighting arguments that claims in a class action over allegedly combustible cladding do not fall under a $190 million insurance policy’s definition of property damage, saying installing the cladding was like “dousing one’s house in kerosene”.

An appeals court has dismissed a challenge brought by a Snap Fitness franchisee to a ruling that found insurer Lloyd’s could rely on a conformity clause in its policy to deny business interruption coverage to the NSW gym for losses related to COVID-19.

A judge has ordered that the lead applicant in a class action against German cladding manufacturer 3A Composites give further details on how its allegedly combustible cladding caused losses for property owners.

A judge has given a “judicial harrumph” to Sydney developer FKP Commercial Developments and Irish insurer Zurich Insurance in a dispute over coverage for an apartment defects suit, saying it was not for the court to “trawl” through an insurance policy to work out its meaning. 

Irish insurer Zurich Insurance has refused consent for a class action over a defective New Zealand apartment block to proceed in the NSW Supreme Court as it mulls a High Court challenge to the case.

Law firm Sophie Grace has settled a lawsuit brought by collapsed forex broker Gallop International Group claiming its failure to ensure the company complied with its obligations as a holder of an Australian financial services licence led to $15.4 million in investor funds being loaned to the company’s director in Hong Kong.