April
New Zealand proposes law change to deliver CBA, ANZ major legal win
The country’s conservative government has taken the unusual step in intervening in a stoush between thousands of bank customers and the lenders with new laws.
NSW Liberals sued over council nomination debacle
A class action alleges NSW Liberals have been negligent and in breach of contract for failing to nominate more than 140 candidates for local elections.
Maurice Blackburn strikes deal with staff after 12-month stand-off
The workers’ rights law firm has reached a deal with staff, which includes pay rises of up to 12.5 per cent over three years.
MinRes and Chris Ellison face class action over ‘misleading conduct’
The loss-making miner has rejected claims its share price was “artificially inflated by the company’s misconduct” and that investors suffered losses as a result.
March
Phantom braking, battery faults: This Tesla owner is selling
Forget Elon Musk – a flat battery due to a firmware fault, towing costs, and phantom braking drove this Tesla driver to give up on his $73,000 electric vehicle.
Class action flagged over CFMEU and Setka ‘blacklist’
A law firm is preparing a class action against the CFMEU and former leader John Setka for allegedly banning its own members from the industry.
Maurice Blackburn losses mount amid class action failures
Contingency fees were expected to boost plaintiff firms, but the recent reversal in results has exposed the high-risk, high-reward strategy.
February
Ambulance chasers circle Slater and Gordon over email leak
Hopefully the firm has learnt something about being on the other side in its long history of fighting similar matters on behalf of workers.
High Court win for law firm over billionaire’s private company
Atanaskovic Hartnell closed off a second near decade-long legal battle in a matter of months, ahead of a busy year for the High Court.
January
Rio bosses asked staff to ‘limit’ emailing news of cost blowout
Internal documents provided to a New York court suggest the company pushed discussions about the troubled Oyu Tolgoi project onto encrypted messaging platforms.
December 2024
BHP’s Samarco class action shrinks as Brazilians quit
Four municipalities have exited a $36 billion compensation claim against the mining giant in the British courts in favour of alternative compensation.
‘No taxi driver likes Uber much’: Uneasy truce in cabs trial
Uber users in Sydney and Melbourne can now get regular taxis on the app. Cabbies see the benefit, but it is an uneasy truce between the transport arch enemies.
Why top litigators are worried about a Dutton government
Litigation funders are worried about a crackdown on class action funding if the Coalition wins next year’s election.
November 2024
WiseTech allegedly misled investors over ‘aggressive’ earnings targets
In a new class action, Phi Finney McDonald alleges that shareholders in the software company suffered after it missed earlier profit guidance in 2020.
October 2024
Chickenpox and faded flowers: BHP challenges size of $70b lawsuit
BHP alleges some of the 620,000 bids for compensation rest on spurious claims, as part of a courtroom push to cut back the English class action’s colossal size.
‘Relentless pursuit of profits’: BHP lawsuit opens in London
The miner and class action lawyers Pogust Goodhead locked horns in court, but the protesters and TV crews gathered outside suggest a PR battle is also afoot.
BHP faces down 620,000 Brazilians as Samarco class action kicks off
A British court will on Monday start a trial that was six years in the making. There’s $70 billion at stake, but some claimants say it’s not about money.
BHP tables $45bn plan to settle Brazilian quest for dam disaster cash
On the eve of a $70 billion class action in England, BHP has upped its parallel compensation offer to the Brazilian authorities over the 2015 Samarco disaster.
BHP gets fillip from Brazil as $70b UK class action looms
As the case against BHP over a 2015 mining disaster looms in London next Monday, a Brazilian court casts doubt on the law firm’s contracts with some clients.
Shareholder class actions plunge after prominent corporate victories
Only two new shareholder claims were filed in the first half of this year, as law firms await the outcome of a High Court special leave application on contingency fees.