Events

Seven and law firm Herbert Smith Freehills have lost a bid to set aside subpoenas issued by Fairfax, as the publisher seeks third party costs orders against Seven for funding disgraced soldier Ben Roberts-Smith’s unsuccessful defamation case.

A judge has knocked back a bid by the Australian Federal Police to have an upcoming trial over an allegedly defamatory press conference run on a stripped-back ‘first impression’ basis.

An appeal by Atanaskovic Hartnell over a $330,000 damages judgment in favor of a former general manager is motivated in part by the court’s award of costs in what is a typical ‘no-cost’ employment case, the firm has told a judge, who questioned how much money had been spent on the case already.

Select AFSL, its related entities and its director have been slapped with $13.6 million in penalties after a judge found that the life insurer used unconscionable phone sales tactics to “wear down” often vulnerable consumers, including migrants and Indigenous communities.

The government of Peru has appealed a ruling that rejected its bid to trade mark the alcoholic spirit pisco, after an IP Australia delegate found Aussie consumers think of more than Peruvian pisco when they see the name.

Executives of collapsed Bruck Textile Technologies have been committed to stand trial on charges alleging they schemed their way out of making more than $3 million in redundancy payments to their 58 employees. 

Australian banknote manufacturer CCL Secure has succeeded a second time in opposing a patent application by British rival De La Rue International for banknote security technology.

A judge has criticised HWL Ebsworth’s discovery efforts and ordered the law firm to try again in the firm’s dispute with a former partner claiming the company cut him out of a proposed ASX float in 2020. 

A judge has rejected an amended copyright case against US-based analytics company CoreLogic, expressing his displeasure at the use of imprecise phrases like ‘including’ and “such as’ in the revised pleading.

Mining magnate Clive Palmer and his company Mineralogy have lost a bid to amend one of two cases that claim losses totalling $4 billion against CITIC after a judge found the amended claims would be “unfairly general”.