A judge has held that there could be favourable costs consequences for Carnival if its rejected $15 million settlement offer in the Ruby Princess class action turns out to be more generous than the ultimate damages award, departing from a previous ruling that so-called Calderbank offers do not operate in group proceedings.
Cruise ship operator Carnival PLC has flagged a bid for indemnity costs after the lead applicant in a class action over a COVID-19 outbreak aboard the Ruby Princess rejected a $15 million settlement offer.
Still in the dark about insurance coverage and seeking to stem the flow of cash, two class actions against Heritage Care and St Basil’s over COVID-19 outbreaks have been shelved pending the outcome of criminal cases against the Victorian aged care providers, in a decision the judge said “wouldn’t gladden the hearts of group members”.
COVID-19 lockdowns may have ended years ago but the impacts on small businesses are only now being seen, with larger companies likely to suffer a “contagion effect” in 2024, says K&L Gates’ newest partner.
Aged care provider Anglicare has hit back at a class action filed on behalf of 25 people whose loved ones died during a COVID-19 outbreak at the Newmarch House in Sydney, saying it owed no duty of care to prevent mental harm to its residents’ family members.
A court fight has broken out between a vaccine developer and South Australia’s Flinders University over the supply of mice and access to a lab at the college, with the professor’s lawyer declaring the battle “literally a matter of life and death”.
The Council for the Law Society of NSW can seek disciplinary findings against a solicitor who was previously banned over social media posts encouraging people to flout COVID-19 mandates and representing that a judge condoned rape and murder.
The High Court has overturned a ruling that barred foreign passengers from a class action over the ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise in 2020, finding a class action waiver in the terms and conditions of their tickets was unenforceable under Australia’s consumer laws.
The firm behind a class action over Victoria’s COVID-19 hotel quarantine debacle has won a group costs order providing for a 30 per cent contingency fee, after promising it won’t ask for more down the road.
The Fair Work Commission has found that a salary packaging provider had “reasonable business grounds” to force workers back to the office, rejecting an employee’s bid to work full-time from home.