Funding for a class action over the troubled Coolum Palmer Resort has been temporarily blocked while a company owned by Clive Palmer appeals a judgment in a separate lawsuit lodged by the billionaire to thwart the class action.
A barrister who represented the Commonwealth of Australia in a class action over the use of allegedly toxic firefighting foam has been appointed to the NSW Supreme Court, bringing much needed diversity to the male-dominated bench.
A judge has signed off on a $37.5 million Murray Goulburn class action settlement but slashed $2 million in legal costs sought by Mark Elliott’s law firm, which is running the case.
Two gynaecologists have lost their bid to dismiss a negligence lawsuit brought by a patient implanted with a Johnson & Johnson pelvic mesh device found by a judge overseeing a related class action to have been defective.
The Commonwealth of Australia has called for the appointment of an amicus to scrutinise the $212.5 million settlement reached in several class action against it over allegedly toxic firefighting foam used on government military bases.
Johnson & Johnson has appealed a ruling awarding the three lead applicants in a class action over its pelvic mesh products a combined $2.6 million in damages, after a judge found the company failed to adequately warn women of the implants’ risks.
A NSW council has agreed to fork over $16 million to settle a class action over a 2009 rubbish tip fire, after the High Court declined to hear the council’s challenge to a ruling that found it was responsible for the damage caused by the fire.
The Australian Institute of Company Directors is calling on the Federal Government to bar lawsuits over coronavirus-related disclosures, including class actions, but some lawyers warned the proposal would leave companies free to mislead and deceive shareholders.
Noting the challenge of searching for documentary evidence while employees are working from home, a judge overseeing two consumer class actions against ANZ and Westpac has directed the banks to hand over only a limited number of documents to the applicants, and given them extra time to do it.
Police have launched a criminal investigation of the circumstances surrounding last month’s docking in Sydney of the Ruby Princess cruise ship, which is now linked to 11 deaths from COVID-19.