Cindy Cameronne

A judge has criticised the “clearly strategic” moves by Qantas and former senior executive Nick Rohrlach in their fight over whose lawsuit should resolve a dispute about the terms of his defection to competitor Virgin Australia.

Ashurst has snagged a long-time commercial litigation partner from Clayton Utz as part of a planned “major expansion” of its disputes team.

Women’s activewear company Lorna Jane has defended ACCC allegations that it represented to consumers during that height of the coronavirus pandemic that its activewear would protect them from viruses including COVID-19, saying it had a reasonable and proper basis for making the claims. 

The ACCC is investigating whether Google and Apple should be forced to offer choice screens to mobile and tablet users in Australia that would allow them to pick a preferred search engine, saying that default settings pose a “barrier to expansion” for smaller search engines.

APRA has closed its probe into Westpac after finding no evidence it breached anti-money laundering laws, but the regulator has maintained a requirement that the bank hold a minimum of $1 billion in capital to reflect its higher operational risk.

A judge has questioned fintech company Squirrel Super’s defence in ASIC’s case alleging it made false and misleading statements about returns on property investments, saying it “looked like a bit of a stretch” at first glance.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has told a judge there’s no chance it will admit to ASIC’s allegations that it accepted conflicted remuneration through the sale of its Essential Super product, likening the matter to ASIC’s failed ‘Wagyu and shiraz’ case against Westpac.

A fight is brewing over allegedly deficient discovery provided by pop star Katy Perry in her trade mark dispute with Sydney fashion designer Katie Perry, with a judge hearing that text messages from the singer’s phone that may be relevant to the case have not been handed over.  

Fortnite developer Epic Games has filed a lawsuit against Google for alleged anti-competitive conduct and misuse of market power, after launching a similar claim against Apple in November.

In another victory for ASIC in a case stemming from the banking royal commission, a judge has ruled that TAL Life Limited breached the Insurance Contracts Act after denying coverage to a cancer patient and threatening to recover $24,000 it had already paid to her.