The state of South Australia is facing a possible class action over a restrictive six-day lockdown that was lifted after two days when it was discovered that a worker connected to a coronavirus outbreak in Adelaide had lied to contact tracers about the time he spent at a pizza shop.
A former Rio Tinto executive living in the US who wants to appear in person at an upcoming trial in a case brought by ASIC says the hearing should be moved to next year when a COVID-19 vaccine will likely become available and he could travel to Australia to “mount a vital defence”.
Insurers may face a class action by holders of business interruption insurance that have had their COVID-19-related claims rejected, following their loss in a test case over whether an infectious disease exclusion in business interruption cover applies to coronavirus-related claims.
Insurers will face a flood of pandemic-related claims after an appeals court ruled in a test case brought by the Insurance Council that certain infectious disease exclusions in business interruption cover do not apply to coronavirus-related claims.
The recent appointments to the High Court have mystified some senior members of the bar, raising questions about the secretive nature of the process and prompting renewed calls for an independent judicial appointments panel to expose the selection process to the light of day.
The High Court won’t wade into Kraft-Heinz’s intellectual property dispute with Bega after the US food giant came up short twice its battle over the right to use its peanut butter trade dress in Australia.
The High Court has ruled that a patentee’s rights to control what can be done with a patented product after it is sold are “exhausted” upon sale.
That a first filed case should be the presumptive winner in a competition between class actions seemed a losing argument before the High Court on Tuesday as the justices weighed a challenge to a ruling picking one among a group of class actions against AMP, but the court also appeared skeptical of the power to hold wide ranging inquiries into the merits of competing cases.
The High Court will hand down its highly anticipated decision in a patent dispute between printer giant Seiko Epson and ink cartridge reseller Calidad on Thursday, a ruling expected to provide clarity on the the rights of businesses to modify patented goods.
Will we see an increase in class actions and funded litigation following the COVID-19 financial crisis similar to that following the global financial crisis? If there is an onslaught of corporate failures, including failed managed investment schemes, then such litigation seems likely to ensue. However, in the last year, Parliament and the courts have taken steps which might slow such litigious activity, says Susan Goodman of Holding Redlich.