Events

Deciding an “unusually difficult” costs application, a judge has declined to award Monsanto all of its costs for defending a class action alleging its Roundup weed killer is carcinogenic, saying the agrochemical giant should have pushed harder for a split trial. 

Linda Reynolds has won her bid to subpoena HWL Ebsworth for correspondence with the Commonwealth prior to its $2.4 million settlement Brittany Higgins, as the senator contests Higgins’ characterisation of her decision to refer the settlement to the corruption watchdog as harassment.

Senator Linda Reynolds has admitted she gave incorrect evidence at Bruce Lehrmann’s criminal trial concerning the day he allegedly raped Brittany Higgins, saying it was her “best recollection” at the time. 

The High Court has issued a ruling that significantly alters the playing field in domestic commercial arbitration, finding that proportionate liability defences can apply despite limitations on claimants joining third parties to disputes.

The tax office has asked the High Court to overturn a decision which found that payments made by Asahi Breweries-owned Schweppes to PepsiCo under agreements to sell brands such as Pepsi and Mountain Dew in Australia were not subject to a royalty withholding tax. 

A judge has rejected Queensland’s bid to transfer two class actions over the removal of Indigenous children to its home turf from Victoria, saying removal was unnecessary in light of the court’s use of livestreaming technology and willingness to hold hearings in Brisbane.

US-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has succeeded in patenting a patient-specific method for developing cancer vaccines using genome sequencing.

The High Court has agreed to step in to resolve division among Australia’s courts on the question of power to make orders that exclude unregistered group members from class action settlements.

The High Court has taken up the ACCC’s boycott case against builder J Hutchinson and the controversial construction union, an appeal that gives the court the chance to clarify the standard for proving an anti-competitive arrangement.

Senator Linda Reynolds has asked the court for leave to issue a subpoena to HWL Ebsworth’s chief executive partner for correspondence leading up to the Commonwealth’s $2.4 million settlement with Brittany Higgins over the government’s handling of her rape allegations.