Judgment

Former G8 Education chair Jennifer Hutson has lost an appeal of a decision that found she was not unlawfully examined by the corporate regulator over the childcare company’s $162 million hostile takeover bid for Affinity Education Group.

A shareholder class action that was filed in the wake of the banking royal commission over AMP’s fees-for-no-service practices has settled for $110 million. 

A Deloitte partner has brought legal action against a Sydney builder over variations to a $1.5 million contract to renovate his house in the waterfront suburb of Balmain, claiming the increases were meant as “cash support” for the construction business. 

Novartis has lost its bid to have Pharmacor’s claim that its patent for a blood pressure drug is invalid decided ahead of a main trial where the Swiss pharmaceutical giant will allege the generic drug maker is threatening to infringe its patent. 

ASIC has lost its challenge to findings that a revenue sharing arrangement between the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and former subsidiary Colonial First State Investments did not breach conflicted remuneration provisions of the Corporations Act.

Two class actions against Victorian aged care providers on behalf of families of residents who died due to alleged failures during the COVID-19 pandemic have appealed a ruling that rejected their bid for insurance and financial information to assist in mediation.

A judge has approved a $5 million settlement in a false imprisonment class action against the state of Victoria on behalf of residents of nine public housing towers over COVID-19 lockdowns, despite noting it “falls towards the lower end of the spectrum”.

Qantas has succeeded in attacking claims that it created a workplace that was “hostile to women”, leveled in a former female pilot’s sex discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit.

A court has found the managing director of teahouse franchise Chatime liable for the underpayment of staff, despite accepting that he believed the company’s wage system was not unlawful.

IP Australia has rejected US fintech Block’s bid to patent a method for adjusting animations to enable a large volume of point of sale applications, finding the invention was a mere scheme that did not meet the manner of manufacture test for patentability.