Thomson Geer is set to nab four partners and 19 staff in a merger with boutique Perth-based firm Tottle Partners, expanding the national firm’s presence in Western Australia.
Group members enjoy broader protection against the running of limitation periods than lead plaintiffs in class actions, an appeals court has said in finding that commercial fishing operators heading a class action against Gladstone Ports could not bring new claims out of time.
A court has granted an extension to the limitation period for a pelvic mesh patient suing her doctor for negligence, finding she did not have the knowledge to bring the case before the three-year window closed and that her claim for substantial damages for personal injury appeared “well founded”.
Appellate guidance is needed on whether a history of cooperation between law firms that brought competing class actions can be the deciding factor in a close carriage contest, the Victorian Court of Appeal has heard.
The Commonwealth can be held criminally responsible for damage to First Nations sacred sites in the Northern Territory, the High Court has unanimously found in a case over construction damage to Gunlom Falls in Kakadu National Park.
A County Court of Victoria judge has been found to have breached the standards of conduct generally expected of judicial officers in his handling of a rape trial, following a complaint by the state’s top prosecutor.
The ATO has lost its appeal of a tribunal decision in favour of Perth land developer Tina Bazzo, with the court rejecting its “all or nothing” approach to a key provision of the Taxation Administration Act.
A judge has granted the Victorian government’s bid to dismiss a class action over its decision to retire Melbourne’s high-rise public housing towers, but allowed the applicant to recast his claim, despite protests from the state.
A judge hearing a class action against the New South Wales government and police commissioner over allegedly illegal strip searches at music festivals has criticised the state for failing to comply with court orders on time.
A judge on the Supreme Court of Victoria says he is a ‘convert’ on group costs orders, which allow law firms running class action to earn a cut of any settlement or judgment, saying GCOs will give better returns to group members and that conflicts can be managed.