Judgment

A judge has approved a $5 million settlement in a false imprisonment class action against the state of Victoria on behalf of residents of nine public housing towers over COVID-19 lockdowns, despite noting it “falls towards the lower end of the spectrum”.

Qantas has succeeded in attacking claims that it created a workplace that was “hostile to women”, leveled in a former female pilot’s sex discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit.

A court has found the managing director of teahouse franchise Chatime liable for the underpayment of staff, despite accepting that he believed the company's wage system was not unlawful.

IP Australia has rejected US fintech Block's bid to patent a method for adjusting animations to enable a large volume of point of sale applications, finding the invention was a mere scheme that did not meet the manner of manufacture test for patentability.

Junior doctors have notched an important victory in a class action alleging Peninsula Health failed to pay overtime hours, with a judge finding the healthcare provider liable to pay for overtime that was not expressly authorised.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers partner has won his lawsuit against the professional services firm over his forced dismissal, with a judge finding the decision breached a partnership agreement and that the firm had acknowledged the partner did not misuse confidential ATO information.

The Fair Work Commission has found that insurer IAG did not unfairly dismiss a veteran employee after a company review of her at-home cyber activity revealed extensive periods of “no or minimal keyboard activity”.

The High Court has dismissed a constitutional appeal by Irish insurer Zurich, clearing the way for a class action over an allegedly defective New Zealand apartment block to proceed in the NSW Supreme Court.

Shine Lawyers has lost its bid to recover $32 million in interest on a loan it took out to run two pelvic mesh class actions against Johnson & Johnson, with a judge finding it would make a “marginal settlement less than reasonable”.

An IP Australia delegate has shot down Kraft's opposition to a Mars patent for a less costly method for producing the distinct creaminess and flavour of crumb chocolate.