The Federal Court has updated guidance on its response to the coronavirus outbreak, saying it is working with lawyers to ensure as many hearings listed for the coming months can proceed. And Monday’s calendar, while perhaps lighter than usual, shows multiple matters will be heard as planned — by telephone.
The Full Federal Court has thrown out an appeal by a former special counsel of HWL Ebsworth, ruling the senior practitioner was reasonably fired for violating the firm’s media policy in press interviews and not because of his political views.
Personal healthcare giant PZ Cussons is seeking $4.7 million in indemnity costs from the ACCC, claiming the regulator’s much hyped spoke and hub case over an alleged laundry detergent cartel was always “overwhelmingly likely” to fail.
Calling the complex intellectual property dispute a “total war” between the tech giants, a judge has dismissed a proposed amended defence by Hytera Communications to Motorola’s allegations of copyright infringement, finding that the “wholly new case” would derail an upcoming trial in May and push it back by at least a year.
The ACCC has asked for an interim stay of an appeal by Indonesian airline Garuda, which has yet to pay a $19 million penalty for airline price fixing, telling the court it wanted to give the company another chance to explain its “entirely exceptional” non-compliance.
ASIC has criticised a Federal Court judge for his ‘thought experiments’ around prospective home loan applicants feasting on Wagyu beef and shiraz, as the regulator challenges the judge’s dismissal of its responsible lending case against Westpac.
The ACCC claims it was not required to prove Kimberly-Clark’s flushable wipes caused actual harm to sewers, as it challenges a ruling that disposed of its consumer law case against the personal care giant.
Pacific National has defended a decision by a judge to accept an undertaking and rule against the ACCC in its competition case over the rail operator’s acquisition of a major freight terminal in Queensland, saying the ruling was structured with “commendable judicial economy”.
The judge who dismissed the ACCC’s challenge to Pacific National’s acquisition of Aurizon’s Acacia Ridge Terminal in Queensland had no power to accept an undertaking by the rail operator as an answer to the competition regulator’s case, an appeals court has been told.
The Australian Taxation Office has appealed a Federal Court judgment that healthcare company Healius could recover a tax refund and associated interest estimated to be worth about $60 million.