NSW Court of Appeal confirms duty of care applies to construction work on non-residential buildings
The Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) (Act) imposes on persons who carry out construction work a duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid economic loss to owners and subsequent owners caused by defects. Read more
Not necessary to keep the lights on: court rejects application for urgent relief and gives green light to arbitration
By Elizabeth Macknay, Timothy Goyder, Inigo Kwan-Parsons and Samara Cassar In Power and Water Corporation v ENI Australia B.V [2022] WASC 376 the Supreme Court of Western Australia has provided clarification on the use of ‘urgent relief’ clauses, which permit parties to an arbitration agreement to obtain urgent relief from a court. Read more
Class Actions Fireside Podcast Series: EP19: Insuring yourself against class action defence costs
Episode 19: Insuring yourself against class action defence costs Join our expert panel of Peter Holloway, Anne Hoffmann and Priscilla Bourne as they discuss the myriad considerations to make as an insurance policyholder when it comes to managing class action defence costs. Read more
Update: Western Australia’s Class Action Reform Bill
By Ante Golem, Jonathan Tong and Libby Plajzer In our Legal Briefing dated 26 August 2022 (Legal Briefing), we reported that the Civil Procedure (Representative Proceedings) Bill 2021 (Bill) was currently before the Legislative Council Western Australia for its second reading speech. On 31 August 2022, the Bill passed through the Legislative Council. Consequently, Western … Read more
Claim against broker for pool damage fails on causation
By Mark Darwin and Laurence Terret A policyholder claim for negligence against its insurance broker has failed on the issue of causation even though it proved the broker had been negligent.[1] The decision in Flanagan v Bernasconi[2] is an important reminder that to succeed in actions for professional negligence, it is not sufficient to simply prove a … Read more
Stage 1 of the new Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021: How to ensure you are SOPA ready
By Laura Bowlt and Kate Bower Laura and Kate discuss Stage 1 of the new Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Act 2021 (SOPA) (WA), as well as providing some practical tips on ensuring your contracts are SOPA ready, and the importance of responding to payment claims on time. The first stage of SOPA … Read more
Class Actions Fireside Podcast Series: EP18: Threatened class actions: the how, where and why
Episode 18: Threatened class actions: the how, where and why Join class actions partners Liz Poulos, Harry Edwards and Ruth Overington as they discuss the implications of threatened class actions and current trends, and consider different funding models and other key drivers affecting a claim being filed. Read more
Multiplicity resolved and group costs order granted in Beach Energy class actions
By Jason Betts, Chris Tran, Vanessa Leyshon, Sam Bytheway and Bowen Fox This month, the Victorian Supreme Court resolved a multiplicity dispute between competing class actions brought against energy company Beach Energy and granted the third ever Group Costs Order. Read more
Key contacts
Anna Sutherland
Managing Partner, Disputes
+61 2 9225 5280
Harry Edwards
Head of Disputes, Melbourne
+61 3 9288 1821
Cameron Hanson
Head of Disputes, Sydney
+61 2 9225 5224
Ante Golem
Head of Disputes, Perth
+61 8 9211 7542
Elizabeth Poulos
Head of Disputes, Brisbane
+61 7 3258 6575
Graeme Johnson
Disputes Knowledge Management Partner, Sydney
+61 2 9225 5405