COSTS (LAW) – AUSTRALIA

Ten baulks at Wilkinson’s $1.8m claim for costs

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Original article by Ellie Dudley
The Australian – Page: 3 : 28-May-24

Presenter Lisa Wilkinson is seeking over $1.8 million from the Ten Network to pay her legal costs in the aftermath of their defamation case against Bruce Lehrmann, with the Federal Court being told by her lawyers on Monday that Ten was showing an "ongoing reluctance" to pay her costs. The dispute between Wilkinson and Ten over her legal costs arose as a result of her deciding to seek separate representation for the defamation case, with Ten arguing that she should pay for all aspects of the case where it was not necessary for her to have separate representation.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

ABC defamation bill hits $1.9 million over four years

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Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Age – Page: Online : 9-Aug-23

The ABC has disclosed its legal costs arising from defamation actions in recent years. Documents filed with the federal government show that the ABC spent $1.94m on legal costs over the four years to 2022-23. This includes legal settlements totalling $753,450 in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and external costs of $1.2m for the two financial years. However, the figures exclude data for the 2019-20 and 2022-23 financial years, as the public broadcaster was only required to disclose its legal costs for years in which there were three or more settlements.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

ABC board left out on legal costs

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Original article by James Madden, Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 27-Oct-21

The ABC’s MD David Anderson has told a Senate estimates hearing that he made the decision to pay the legal costs of journalist Louise Milligan in a defamation case, and he did not consult the public broadcaster’s board. Anderson defended his actions by saying he had legal advice to the effect that the ABC could potentially have been held vicariously liable for Milligan’s social media posts regarding Liberal MP Andrew Laming; this could have resulted in legal costs for the ABC of up to $700,000. It is estimated that the ABC has incurred legal costs of about $184,000 arising from the case.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

‘ABC’s $150k legal costs move flawed’

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 19-Oct-21

Auditor-General Grant Hehir has found that there is no documented advice within the ABC to support the public broadcaster’s decision to pay the legal costs of journalist Louise Milligan in the Andrew Laming defamation case. The Liberal MP’s lawsuit ended up costing the ABC about $150,000 in total. Meanwhile, John McMillan and Jim Carroll have been appointed to head an independent review of the ABC’s in-house complaints unit, which has come under growing scrutiny in recent times. McMillan is a former federal and New South Wales ombudsman, and Carroll has previously worked for SBS and the Ten Network.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED

Nine to pay costs in Aston ruling

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Original article by Cameron England
The Australian – Page: 3 : 9-Feb-21

The Federal Court has awarded indemnity costs to Elaine Stead in her defamation case against newspaper columnist Joe Aston. The indemnity costs will be backdated to 22 April, when Nine Entertainment Company rejected Stead’s offer to settle the case for $190,000. Stead was recently awarded ordinary and aggravated damages totalling $280,000 over several articles that were published in the ‘Australian Financial Review’. Nine could potentially face a total bill of more than $2.5m arising from the defamation case.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC,FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

IR class action costs ruling appealed

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 18-Nov-19

UK-based litigation funder Augusta Ventures will appeal a court ruling that it must pay security of costs up-front in a wage theft class action. The case centres on allegations that BHP and labour hire firms underpaid casual workers at the Mount Arthur coal mine. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox warns that there is the potential for workers to receive nothing from a class action payout once a litigation funder has received its share. He has called for the sector to be subject to the same regulation as financial services providers.

CORPORATES
AUGUSTA VENTURES, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, ADERO LAW

Costs blow strikes Fair Work funders

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 9-Oct-19

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has welcomed the Federal Court’s ruling that litigation funder August Ventures should provide security for employers’ costs in a class action over alleged breaches of workplace laws. Willox hopes the ruling will make Fair Work class actions less attractive to litigation funders, while he has called for such businesses to be subject to greater regulation. There are currently 11 class actions before the Federal Court involving ­alleged breaches of the Fair Work Act.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUGUST VENTURES, ADERO LAW, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, WORKPAC PTY LTD

CFMEU slapped with $65m in penalties

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Jul-19

The federal government has released data showing that the Construction, Forestry, Mining, Maritime & ­Energy Union has incurred about $65m worth of legal costs and court fines for breaching workplace laws since 2004. This includes court penalties totalling $28.6m in Victoria, with the bulk of these penalties having been incurred in cases involving controversial state secretary John Setka. The government’s Ensuring Integrity Bill will be put before the lower house on 24 July, and is aimed at making it easier to deregister unions and other registered organisations.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Taxpayers slugged for failed union action

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 6-Jun-18

The Australian Building & Construction Commission has spent more than $A44,000 in a failed bid to overturn a court’s decision to dismiss a case against the militant Construction, Forestry, Maritime & Mining Energy Union. The ABCC’s legal costs in the original case had exceeded $A666,000. The case had concerned a blockade at a construction site in Canberra, with the ABCC contending that the industrial action was aimed at forcing the builder to sign an enterprise agreement.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION

Wilson confident she can defeat Bauer Media appeal over payout

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Original article by Broede Carmody
The Age – Page: 5 : 20-Apr-18

Bauer Media is challenging the size of its payout to actress Rebel Wilson after a Victorian jury found in 2017 that it had defamed her. Justice John Dixon awarded Wilson damages of $A4.5 million, which Bauer is now contesting in the Court of Appeal. Media is not challenging the judgment, but only the amount, which it claims is "manifestly excessive". It is also contesting Justice Dixon’s finding that Wilson should be compensated for roles she claims to have missed out on because of its actions, claiming that there was insufficient evidence on this issue.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COURT OF APPEAL (VICTORIA), FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION