For all the differences between Australia’s system for trying securities class action cases and the way we do things here in the U.S., this much we share in common: Securities class actions rarely go to trial.

Perhaps that’s why a story filed by my Law.com International colleague Christopher Niesche on a defense win at trial last week for Australian engineering firm Worley caught my eye.  In just the second securities class action case to ever go to trial Down Under, Worley’s lawyers at Herbert Smith Freehills convinced Justice Jacqueline Gleeson that the company hadn’t run afoul of the country’s continuous disclosure laws, which require companies to keep investors ever up-to-date on potential market-moving information. The ruling potentially puts the plaintiffs on the hook for Worley’s defense fees and costs, but their counsel at Shine Lawyers (great name, by the way!) have said they’re considering their clients’ options, which include appealing the decision.