GLJ v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore [2023] HCA 32 At a glance The High Court of Australia has today delivered judgment in GLJ v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore [2023] HCA 32 and, by majority, has allowed an appeal from […]
Russell v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (No 3) [2023] FCA 1223 At a glance On Tuesday 24 October 2023, the Federal Court handed down a costs judgment granting Heston Russell costs on an indemnity basis following the ex-commando’s victory against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in a protracted defamation lawsuit. This article continues on from our earlier […]
DJW v State of Queensland [2023] QSC 138 At a glance On 19 October 2023, the Supreme Court of Queensland handed down its decision to permanently stay the proceedings in an historic abuse claim. The claim involved a psychiatric injury that was alleged to have developed due to the sexual and physical abuse of an […]
Russell v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (No 3) [2023] FCA 1223 At a glance In September 2022, Heston Russell, a former Major and Commando Officer within the Special Operations Command of the ADF initiated proceedings against the ABC and two investigative journalists. In February, the Federal Court found that the publications defamed Mr Russell. Initially, the ABC […]
Elliott-Carde v McDonald’s Australia Limited [2023] FCAFC 162 At a glance On 12 October 2023, the Full Federal Court delivered its long-awaited judgment in the McDonald’s breaks class action. The Court unanimously confirmed that it has the power under s 33V(2) of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) to make orders for settlement […]
WSP Structures Pty Ltd v Liberty Mutual Insurance Company t/as Liberty Specialty Markets [2023] FCA 1157 At a glance On 28 September 2023, the Federal Court of Australia found a liability policy covered a sub-contracting engineer and opened up double insurance claims. The case involved claims against WSP, the structural engineer for Sydney’s Opal Tower […]
Yan v Mainzeal Property Construction Limited (in liq) [2023] NZSC 113 On 25 August 2023, the Supreme Court handed down its highly anticipated decision in Yan v Mainzeal Property Construction Limited (in liq) [2023] NZSC 113. The Court largely upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision and included the award of damages of $39.8m against the […]
Karlevski v Vicinity Centres PM Pty Ltd & Anor [2023] VCC 482 A recent decision by the County Court of Victoria has reconfirmed that while plaintiffs in personal injury actions can rely on inferential reasoning in the absence of direct evidence to a point, mere conjecture is not sufficient. In this matter, which involves a […]
Acciona Infrastructure Australia Pty Ltd v Zurich Australian Insurance Limited [2023] FCAFC 47 On 28 March 2023, the Full Federal Court handed down its judgment on a separate question concerning the operation of an exclusion for damage to contract works caused by rain. The separate question was brought by the Acciona and Ferrovial joint venture […]
Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner Ltd v Wellington City Council The Court of Appeal, in Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner Ltd v Wellington City Council, has upheld the High Court’s decision and ruled that contribution claims are not subject to the 10-year longstop in the Building Act. As a result, construction professionals, not joined as […]
