Judges

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is open to a proposal to consolidate two shareholder class actions filed over alleged breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws, but will address any "devil in the details", a lawyer for the bank told a court Tuesday.

A court has ruled that Chinese vitamin company Nature's Care cannot sell its imported fish oil and vitamin D with the 'Made in Australia' logo because the product fails to meet the required country-of-origin labelling provisions.

A showdown between global pharmaceutical giants over the world's best selling vaccine began Monday in Federal Court, with Merck Sharp & Dohme claiming three patents for Prevnar 13 sold by Pfizer's Wyeth are invalid and that its own vaccine offers greater protection against pneumococcal bacteria.

Grain supplier Seednet has agreed to pay $1 million to settle an enforcement action by the consumer watchdog alleging it misled farmers about the performance of its latest barley variety.

Shareholder cases made up half of all class actions filed in the past two years, and are to blame for an "unprecedented spike" in class actions, according to a new report by a leading defence law firm.

Shareholders who registered for a class action against mining company MacMahon Holdings will get a $2.4 million cut of a proposed $6.7 million settlement, according to a notice sent to group members ahead of next week's settlement approval hearing.

Real estate advertiser REA Group has won an emergency injunction against Domain that blocks its rival from authorising the owner of the US website realestate.com to redirect Australian traffic to Domain.

Fairfax is facing a defamation lawsuit from the former head of franchise giant Retail Food Group, who alleges a series of articles in the Sydney Morning Herald implied he engaged in dishonest business practices, including stealing property from former INXS frontman Michael Hutchence and associating with the mafia.

A court has told the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to produce more detailed allegations against former Tennis Australia directors Harold Mitchell and Stephen Healy over Seven Network's five-year deal for the broadcast rights to the Australian Open after the regulator was slammed for a vague filing.

Generic drug maker Sandoz has been found liable for patent infringement and misleading and deceptive conduct in a case by pharmaceutical giant Lundbeck over its blockbuster antidepressant Lexapro, ending a battle that has raged for 15 years.