The national secretary of the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining Energy Union has filed an urgent lawsuit against union heavyweight John Setka and 29 other officers accused of poaching union members from a rival division.
Australia’s bushfire crisis has led to calls for a class action against a government perceived to be liable for its inaction on climate change. But representative proceedings may not have a high chance of success, a lawyer has told Lawyerly.
Unfunded group members in two shareholder class actions against online fashion retailer Surfstitch have been told they are likely better off to opt out of a settlement if a judge approves $6 million in fees and a 30 per cent commission sought by the law firms and funder that brought the cases.
The managing partner of Hicksons Lawyers has been accused of saying that if a former partner got pregnant, it would “ruin all [his] plans,” according to a sex discrimination lawsuit that argues the firm’s requirements for promotion to equity partner were discriminatory.
Mortgage lending and investment company RMBL has agreed to pay $3 million to settle a class action alleging it charged excessive fees on loans and made misleading representations under its contributory mortgage fund scheme.
BlueScope’s decision to hide its trade secrets has doomed its patent infringement lawsuit against South Korean rival Dongkuk Steel, with a judge dismissing the case and invalidating two of the steel giant’s patents.
The lead plaintiffs in two shareholder class actions against Dick Smith can amend their case against accounting firm Deloitte, less than two months before a mammoth hearing is set to commence.
An IOOF subsidiary has appealed a $76.6 million judgment finding it breached its duty in the sale of a 46,000 hectare plantation by collapsed forestry giant Gunns Group and shooting down its cross claim seeking to pass liability onto law firm Sparke Helmore.
A law firm has dodged a $6.5 million negligence claim by a Tasmanian agricultural business over advice supplied about agreements entered into with a division of collapsed forestry giant Gunns Limited, with a judge slamming the company director’s evidence as “rambling and non-responsive”.
Running a law firm is not without risk, chief among them staring down a lawsuit by a client, an ex-partner or employee, even a rival firm. Last year, Australian firms faced numerous actions alleging everything from sex discrimination to negligence.