Judgment

A judge has found that former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins in ex-defence minister Linda Reynolds’ ministerial office, saying he was “indifferent to her consent”, despite finding both witnesses had credit issues. 

A judge has criticised a Network Ten solicitor who signed off on former presenter Lisa Wilkinson’s Logies speech, given on the eve Bruce Lehrmann’s criminal trial, saying she had failed to appreciate her duties to the court.

The liquidators for Halifax Investment Services were justified in reaching a compromise settlement in proceedings against King & Wood Mallesons alleging the firm and former auditor Bentleys failed to advise the defunct stockbroker that it had to hold client funds used to trade on its online platform on trust, a judge has found.

Investment manager IOOF has failed to persuade a judge that the applicant in a failed shareholder class action should face indemnity costs for rejecting a $6 million offer to settle the case.

The majority shareholders of vitamin giant Nature’s Care have been hit with the costs of the company’s failed bid for an injunction against its founding family, after a judge found the shareholders appear to have caused proceedings to be commenced as part of a strategy to “override the rights” of the family. 

A judge has ruled gaming giant Aristocrat Technologies cannot patent its Lightning Link electronic poker machine, after six High Court Justices split on whether the popular game was eligible for patent protection.

In a win for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, a judge has found that payday lender Sunshine Loans charged thousands of customers prohibited fees, issuing a scathing judgment condemning the company’s “wrongheaded” conduct.

A former director of Noumi has won his challenge to the food manufacturer’s claim for legal professional privilege over a PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by its lawyers at Ashurst, with a judge finding the company waived privilege by disclosing it to Australian Securities and Investments Commission. 

Dental aligner maker Invisalign has won an appeal of a decision rejecting its case accusing SmileDirectClub of misleading consumers, but the appeals court noted that the prospect of a new trial was “remote” after its competitor went under.

A judge has summarily dismissed a case by five passengers against Qatar Airways that alleged the airline was liable for invasive examinations conducted by Qatar police after a newborn baby was found in a bin at the Doha airport. But the case is allowed to continue against subsidiary MATAR.