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Case Alerts

The underbelly of s 40 of the Inquiries Act exposed in Re Mokbel (No 2) [2024] VSC 39

By: Georgie Austin, Jacquie Goodwin, Blake Pappas, and Rhyse Collins At a glance In one of three recent judgments from the Victorian Supreme Court concerning ‘preliminary evidential issues’ surrounding Tony Mokbel’s appeal against conviction, Her Honour Fullerton J held that the ‘use immunity’ contained within s 40(1) of the Inquiries Act 2014 (Vic) applies so […]

By : Anja Vogel Mar 1, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

Class Actions: Ones to Watch – The multiplicity “plague” – when there are too many players at the table

By: Amanda Beattie, Dylan O’Keefe and Tess Jenks Introduction The class action regime in Australia has changed dramatically in the last couple of years. Our “ones to watch” series tackles a series of topics to explain the regime’s current state, highlight recent developments and flag issues that should be on the radar for the Australian and […]

By : Anja Vogel Dec 13, 2023 Comments Off

Articles, Case Alerts

Class Actions: Ones to Watch – The next step for settlement CFOs – the Full Court is set to consider solicitor CFOs next year

By: Amanda Beattie and Dylan O’Keefe R&B Investments Pty Ltd (Trustee) v Blue Sky Alternative Investments Limited (Administrators Appointed) (in liq) (Reserved Question) [2023] FCA 1499 The Federal Court has this week reserved a question to be determined by the Full Court as to whether the Court has the power to grant a CFO in […]

By : Anja Vogel Dec 1, 2023 Comments Off

Case Alerts

Lehrmann vs. Queensland Police – guidance from the Supreme Court of Queensland on non-publication orders and judicial review

By: Georgie Austin, Zoë Burchill Lehrmann v Queensland Police Service & Ors [2023] QSC 238 At a glance In late October 2023, former liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann failed in his bid to obtain a non-publication order over his identity as a defendant in criminal proceedings for charges of rape. This article examines the decision […]

By : Anja Vogel Nov 14, 2023 Comments Off

Case Alerts

ABC’s Consent Costs Them: Unpacking the Judgment on Costs in the Russell Case

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 […]

By : Anja Vogel Oct 26, 2023 Comments Off

Articles

The rise of data breach class actions: legal trends and implications

At a glance Class actions following large-scale data breaches have been filed for the first time in Australia, adding a further layer of complexity to the management of cyber incidents. There are potential obstacles to the success of such class actions, and it is not yet clear if they will be a viable (or best) […]

By : Anja Vogel Oct 26, 2023 Comments Off

Case Alerts

ABC learns the ABCs of the new public interest defence

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 […]

By : Anja Vogel Oct 23, 2023 Comments Off

Articles

High Court decides on the scope and power to publish corruption reports

Crime and Corruption Commission v Carne [2023] HCA 28 At a glance On 13 September 2023, the High Court of Australia dismissed an appeal by the CCC to publicly release a report on its investigation into the former Public Trustee of Queensland Peter Carne. The High Court found the CCC did not have the […]

By : Anja Vogel Oct 11, 2023 Comments Off

Articles

Class actions overview for FY23

Class actions are now a key feature of the litigation landscape in Australia. Recognising that insurers and insureds take a sophisticated approach to defending class actions, W+K has established a unique class action defence offering. We now have senior class action defence lawyers, with top tier experience, working alongside our partners with deep insurance product […]

By : Anja Vogel Jul 20, 2023 Comments Off

Articles

Contempt of court – when true crime podcasts and docuseries break the law

In recent years, documentary series like Netflix’s Making a Murderer and podcasts such as The Teacher’s Pet have proved wildly popular, with tens of millions of users streaming each worldwide. However, online publications like these are treated as being continuously published so they carry a higher risk of attracting contempt of court charges than printed […]

By : Anja Vogel May 29, 2023 Comments Off

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