Region

A court has given the green light to BHP’s bid to extend a Queensland coal mine over the objections of an environmental lobby group, saying the court’s acceptance of climate change did not mean it would reject all applications for fossil fuel projects.

A Sydney solicitor has lost his bid to summarily dismiss the legal watchdog’s case alleging he set up misleading crowdfunding pages seeking funding for class actions over government orders requiring mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as another class action that was never filed.

A tribunal has found prominent barrister Charles Waterstreet guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct for sexually harassing three women, but declined to find he was unfit to practice after accepting expert evidence that undiagnosed mental illness “was the dominant causal factor” behind his actions.

A class action seeking to hold a regional NSW law firm liable for the actions of a former employee who was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for fraud offences in 2021 has reached a settlement. 

A class action against the New South Wales government alleging it discriminated against Indigenous communities on the south coast for engaging in cultural fishing practices will include up to 15,000 people, a court has heard.

A judge’s refusal to recuse himself from hearing a costs dispute between MinterEllison and a former client has been overturned, with a court finding that a number of complaints made about the judge by the client created “a contest” between them.

Property developer Thirdi has rejected the claims of a class action brought by the owners of lots in an allegedly shoddy townhouse development in Sydney, and has filed a cross-claim seeking an indemnity from its builder.

A court has dismissed a bid to temporarily halt the demolition of three public housing towers in inner city Melbourne as a class action pursues the Victorian government over its decision to redevelop the sites.

Leading lawyers have welcomed a new practice note in the Commercial Court division of the Victorian Supreme Court, including a “rigid framework” to cut down on interlocutory disputation which is expected to benefit commercial class action litigants, but some say the note “should have gone further” to compel discovery from defendants.

Law firm HWL Ebsworth has successfully appealed a decision finding that its negligent advice over property in Paramatta’s ‘Auto Alley’ cost a client $2 million, with an appeals court finding the commercial opportunity lost by the client had no value.