Judgment

Hilton has lost its challenge to a $173 million tax adjustment from the 2015 sale of the Sydney Hilton Hotel, with a judge finding the transaction was entered into for the dominant purpose of obtaining a tax benefit. 

A judge has rejected environmental group Save Wallum’s lawsuit against the developers of a housing estate in Brunswick Heads, finding the group failed to prove the development was likely to have a significant impact on threatened species.

The National Basketball League has succeeded in staying preliminary discovery proceedings by the Illawarra Hawks and Melbourne Phoenix basketball clubs, with a judge finding their licence agreement contained a broad dispute resolution clause.

The University of Melbourne has lost its appeal of a decision ordering it to reinstate an academic who was sacked for allegedly harassing a female colleague.

Steel trader Macsteel International has won an injunction barring its former chief financial officer from disclosing or using its confidential information, after he downloaded almost 10,000 documents containing sensitive information. 

A contradictor will weigh in on an $18 million settlement in a class action by Sydney homeowners, even though the funder and law firm have agreed to a cut from their deductions, which would have left just 20 per cent of the settlement for group members.

A judge has rejected ride-on toy maker Smart Trike's bid to withdraw admissions in a dispute with Target due to errors by its lawyers, saying the company had failed to adequately explain how the admissions came to be made and repeated in three versions of its defence.

A judge has rejected former Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach's bid to restrain Federal Court Justice Michael Lee from making further public comments about the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case, after the judge spoke about the case in an interview with reporter Joe Aston. 

Legal services provider Knowmore Legal has lost its bid to exclude a class action lead plaintiff’s individual claim from an upcoming trial in proceedings accusing it of providing cookie cutter legal advice to survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.

The ACCC can continue to pursue cartel claims against defunct crane operator MCR Melrose, with a judge finding the regulator's case was in the public interest and unlikely to prejudice creditors.