Contracts

Russia’s recent challenge to the Commonwealth’s allegedly unreasonable decision to terminate its lease to build a new embassy in Canberra could be heard in early 2023, amid concerns key witnesses could soon be kicked out of the country altogether.

Jim’s Group has paid a $24,420 fine after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission accused the company of breaching the Franchise Code and misleading a franchisee.

The University of Melbourne has hit back at the Fair Work Ombudsman’s allegations that it took adverse action against two casual academics to prevent them from claiming payment for extra hours worked, but admitted a supervisor penned an email referring to one of them as a “self-entitled Y-genner”.

Embattled investment firm Linchpin Capital has sued auditors Grant Thornton and Moore Stephens for signing off on the compliance plan for a registered fund that allegedly used investor money to advance the company's business interests and line its directors' pockets.

A judge has struck out claims accusing Corelogic of unauthorised scraping of confidential information from building information provider BCI Media’s copyright-protected leads platform, finding the case was “defective and deficient in many respects”.

Mineralogy has secured unconditional court approval to drop one of the "battle fronts" in its war with CITIC units Sino Iron and Korean Steel, with a judge refusing to impose a "price" on the discontinuance in the form of an undertaking not to revive the claims.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has appealed a judgment that found its case alleging Retail Foods Group misled franchisees should be run using a sample of stores.

A judge has upheld two arbitration awards worth $52 million for German industrial manufacturing giant Siemens against CIMIC-connected BIC Contracting LLC over a contract to build a “people mover system” in Qatar.

Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel refinery has lost its appeal of a decision ordering it pay $26.6 million for natural gas charges owed after a court rejected claims it did not need to repay the money because pipeline owners had breached their duties.

The Full Federal Court has thrown out a decision that found foreign passengers could join a class action against cruise operator Carnival PLC over the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak aboard the Ruby Princess, finding a class action waiver was not unfair.