High Court
High Court finds Victoria’s cap on political donations unconstitutional
The High Court has thrown out Victoria's $4,970 cap on political donations months ahead of the next state elections, finding the law is unconstitutional and unlawfully benefits the major parties.
Energy & Natural Resources
Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting must pay royalties in iron ore mine battle
Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart could be on the hook for millions of dollars in royalty payments, in a long-running battle over lucrative iron ore mining tenements in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
Trials
Mastercard execs to be grilled on response to RBA in competition trial
Mastercard executives who claim they had no anti-competitive purpose when pursuing agreements with retailers to favour its network are expected to face cross-examination about responses given to the Reserve Bank about its least cost routing initiative.
Defamation
Rebel Wilson walks back harassment claims in ‘The Deb’ star’s defamation suit
Actor and director Rebel Wilson will no longer press claims that The Deb producer Amanda Ghost sexually harassed leading actress Charlotte MacInnes as a part of her defence to MacInnes' defamation proceedings.
Discrimination
Lesbian activist group scores win in fight to exclude trans people from events
A lesbian activist group has succeeded in setting aside a decision that upheld an Australian Human Rights Commission decision denying it permission to exclude transgender and bisexual people from its events.
Competition & Consumer Protection
Firm that offended judge appeals ruling on scope of NT housing class action trial
The firm behind a class action over remote housing in the Northern Territory has appealed a decision rejecting its bid to undo orders on the scope of the initial trial, after the judge disregarded submissions by a class action solicitor that "affronted" her.
Privacy & Cybersecurity
‘Two‑time offender’ Latitude pays $4M for latest spam breaches
Latitude Finance has been hit with a $3.96 million penalty for sending more than 2.3 million marketing messages that ran afoul of spam laws, the latest legal headache for the country's largest non-bank lender.
Intellectual Property
Telix sues to invalidate Purdue patent for cancer treatment Pluvicto
Melbourne-based biopharma Telix has filed a lawsuit against Purdue Research Foundation seeking to invalidate its patent for blockbuster prostate cancer treatment Pluvicto.
Transportation & Infrastructure
‘Look at data room downloads’: APAC director says worries over Dexus leak genuine
Pointing to the "number of downloads in the data room", a director of Melbourne Airport's operator has told a court his concerns about information falling into the hands of international airlines during Dexus' share sale were real.
Securities
In Brambles class action win, shareholders show imperfect loss analysis OK
Before the decision in the Brambles case this week -- the first shareholder class action to succeed at trial -- the path to proving loss from disclosure breaches was a thicket of, well, brambles. Now after six consecutive losses, Justice Bernard Murphy has paved the way for plaintiffs to prevail.
