Judgment

A fair work claim against the University of Canberra by the former deputy general counsel of Australian National University has been dismissed, with the Fair Work Commission finding she had no reason to think her fixed contract would not terminate at the agreed date, especially considering her legal background. 

IP Australia has rejected an Italian cheese lobby’s bid to block an American cheese maker from using a trade mark containing the word ‘asiago’, saying there was “very little evidence” Australians were aware of the cheese at all.

A judge has signed off on an agreed-to $5 million penalty against Noumi in ASIC proceedings for violating its continuous disclosure obligations and found the food company’s non-disclosures caused it shares to trade at an inflated price.

Now-defunct sushi chain Sushi Bay has been slapped with penalties totalling more than $15 million, with a court calling its long history of staff underpayments “calculated” and “audacious”.

A judge has rejected Lendlease’s argument that Queensland building legislation does not apply to cross-border works carried out at Gold Coast Airport, saying the builder’s construction of the law would require a “bolt-by-bolt” analysis of construction work.

Two judges have declined to award carriage of a class action against International Capital Markets over risky derivative products to a firm accused of plagiarising its rivals’ pleading.

A law firm partner has avoided personal liability for costs after expert reports were filed late in a dispute with developer Mirvac over alleged defects in a Sydney apartment complex, having walked back an appeal to “competing commitments” that didn’t wash in court. 

The Legal Practice Board’s decision to audit lawyers at a compensation firm following a complaint about paralegals allegedly engaging in unqualified legal practice has been quashed, with a court finding the law didn’t permit investigation of individual solicitors.

Plaintiff firm Maurice Blackburn will foot the bill for the unsuccessful class action against Monsanto over weed killer Roundup, but the company’s reluctance to split the trial in two has come back to bite it.

A former EY partner and ousted board member at National Tiles has lost his $1 million claim alleging the company breached implied terms in a contract by requiring him to sign a “draconian, unreasonable and unacceptable” share agreement.