Events

Stockbroking firm Ord Minnett has challenged a judgment that found it must pay years of wages and other entitlements to a wealth adviser who was only remunerated by commission payments, a decision that could have major repercussions through the industry.

A former ATO worker who accused his employer of using heavy handed debt collection tactics against taxpayers has lost his second bid for immunity from prosecution, with an appeals court finding that whistleblowing laws only protect the disclosure itself. 

Network Ten has won $2 million in costs against Bruce Lehrmann in his failed defamation case over the broadcaster’s coverage of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations, after agreeing to a substantial haircut on its $3.7 million legal bill.

In a loss for the Australian Taxation Office, the Full Federal Court has 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. 

Five federal officers have dropped their defamation case against former ACT prosecutor Shane Drumgold over his complaint concerning their investigation into Brittany Higgins’ sexual assault claims against Bruce Lehrmann.

Epic Games has taken aim at Google for the “untruthful evidence” of its witnesses in the game maker’s competition case against the tech giant, as well as its failure to call senior executives to the stand to defend itself. 

Shareholders of Commonwealth Bank have lodged expected appeals challenging a decision tossing their class actions over alleged lax money laundering compliance, giving the Full Federal Court a chance to clarify when companies must disclose regulatory investigations.

A judge has expressed concern about the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s suspicion that a former director of Keystone Asset Management may have used investor funds to purchase a house in his wife’s name, calling it “alarming”.

A judge has ordered Transport for NSW to only pay 65 per cent of the costs of a class action over Sydney’s $3 billion light rail construction, finding it was not inappropriate to apportion costs even though the plaintiffs were largely successful.

Video game maker Epic Games has attacked as “entirely contrived” the defence by Apple in closing submissions in a Federal Court trial of its landmark competition case, pointing to the tech giant’s lack of evidence, including from CEO Tim Cook.