Although carefully reasoned, last week’s landmark judgment by the Full Federal Court finding power to grant contingency fees to class action solicitors has placed the question of statutory authority to award settlement common fund orders on more unsteady ground than before, experts say.
The NSW Supreme Court would have the power to deal with a contingency fee order made in a class action against KPMG if the accounting firm won its application to move the case from Victoria, making the existence of the order a neutral factor in the transfer bid, the federal Attorney-General has told the High Court.
An environment advocacy group is seeking special leave from the High Court to appeal a decision that allowed the extension of two Mach Energy and Whitehaven Coal mega coal mines in NSW, saying courts have “enfeebled” environmental legislation.
The High Court has agreed to take up a dispute between SkyCity Adelaide and South Australia’s treasurer over the tax treatment of reward points that gamblers convert to gaming chips.
The High Court has declined to step in after Hells Angels’ award of $78,000 in damages for online marketplace Redbubble’s infringement of its trade marks was slashed to just $100, bringing to an end an IP fight that has stretched on for nearly a decade.
The High Court will not hear mining magnate Clive Palmer’s challenge to a court’s finding that lawsuits he brought challenging two criminal cases against him over a takeover bid and alleged payments to his political party were an abuse of process and should be stayed.
The High Court has dismissed an appeal of a decision which found Indonesia’s national airline could avail itself of foreign state immunity to defeat a winding up application.
Unanimously dismissing an appeal by thoroughbred breeding and horseracing giant Godolphin, the High Court has ruled on the proper construction of a tax exemption for rural land in NSW.
Hospitality giant Mantle Group has asked the High Court to find a statement by a full bench of the Fair Work Commission accusing it of acting “extraordinarily and contumaciously” during a dispute about a ‘sham’ enterprise agreement gave rise to an appearance of bias.
A New South Wales developer’s competition case against NSW Ports over a ports privatisation agreement looks bound for the High Court after a judge found a related ACCC proceeding did not bar it from bringing the case, which will challenge a Full Court finding that the ports operator was shielded by derivative Crown immunity.