The Full Federal Court has provided clarity around additional damages in patent cases by reducing the penalties liable to be paid by an Australian fencing and gate manufacturer found to have infringed a rival’s patent for a fence base.
A former Norton Rose Fulbright partner has lost his bid to block King & Wood Mallesons and two barristers from representing the law firm in a long-running feud over his termination, with an appeals court calling his allegations against the legal team “unfounded and misconceived”.
A partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth who successfully opposed a genome editing patent by ToolGen, and a corporate predecessor of law firm Ashurst, have been ordered to pay $375,000 in security in an appeal launched by the South Korean biotech firm.
An Ashurst partner that argued a judge was “confused” when he decided to appoint liquidators to his luxury Point Piper home in a dispute with an ex-judge neighbour has lost his challenge to the ruling.
The applicants in a group of class actions over defective Takata airbags are pushing ahead with a challenge to the power of the NSW Supreme Court to issue class closure orders in the aftermath of a High Court decision shooting down common fund orders, a fight that could send the cases back to the High Court.
An appeals court has slashed a $450,000 judgment against law firm HWL Ebsworth to $127,000, after finding a former partner who sued the firm for unfair dismissal had not lost the opportunity to seek other employment.
The High Court will hear food manufacturer Mondelez’ challenge to a ruling that struck down its method for calculating workers’ personal days.
The High Court will not hear an appeal by the ABC and Nine seeking to revive their truth defence in a defamation lawsuit brought by Chinese businessman Chau Chak Wing.
Westpac has filed a special leave application with the High Court seeking further clarity on the line between personal and general advice under financial services laws, after an appeals court handed ASIC a significant win in finding the bank violated its duty to act in its customers’ best interests during a superannuation rollover campaign.
The end of the common fund order is a setback for class actions that will see a revival of the days of closed proceedings, costly bookbuilding, higher commission rates and the shelving of worthy but risky cases, experts say, and all eyes will now turn to state and federal governments to see how they respond to calls for legislative intervention.