Judgment

A Western Sydney council has lost its bid to keep expert evidence in an arbitration with a builder under wraps in its $7 million case alleging a Sydney architect is liable for defects in a tennis court complex. 

An appeals court has upheld a finding that Tasmanian Ports had a right to kick wood pellets manufacturer Resources Australasia off leased property after it erected an awning structure without permission. 

A judge has hit a container systems company with indemnity costs for tendering hundreds of pages of irrelevant evidence in a trade mark dispute and warned "future litigants that fail to heed this caution" face costs risks.

An appeals court has overturned a decision barring a law firm from acting in an employment case, saying it was an error for a judge to make the order without the firm being joined to the injunction bid.

A judge has rejected a bid to amend a shareholder class action against Beach Energy, saying the way the applicant had articulated its case on loss by reference to an expert report was “apt to lead to confusion”.

Accenture has lost its bid for summary judgment in a former HR exec's case alleging she was booted from her role after raising concerns the company could be liable for $40 million in backpay.

A Toorak developer has been barred from calling on nearly $500,000 in security, with a court finding an allegation against contractor Kronstruct was “irrational and misconceived" and did not result in the alleged $1.6 million loss. 

A former client of a Sydney law firm has lost his bid to up a $300,000 damages award against the firm over a defective notice in a proposed $7.8 million land sale.

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.

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.