Events

The High Court has agreed to hear a case with implications for law firms that represent themselves in litigation, granting an appeal application by media mogul Bruce Gordon, a former client of Sydney firm Atanaskovic Hartnell.

The liquidators for Halifax Investment Services were justified in reaching a compromise settlement in proceedings against King & Wood Mallesons alleging the firm and former auditor Bentleys failed to advise the defunct stockbroker that it had to hold client funds used to trade on its online platform on trust, a judge has found.

Investment manager IOOF has failed to persuade a judge that the applicant in a failed shareholder class action should face indemnity costs for rejecting a $6 million offer to settle the case.

The majority shareholders of vitamin giant Nature’s Care have been hit with the costs of the company’s failed bid for an injunction against its founding family, after a judge found the shareholders appear to have caused proceedings to be commenced as part of a strategy to “override the rights” of the family. 

A judge has ruled gaming giant Aristocrat Technologies cannot patent its Lightning Link electronic poker machine, after six High Court Justices split on whether the popular game was eligible for patent protection.

Sydney lender GEMI may face a class action for allegedly enticing wealthy individuals to make investments in products they were misled into believing were low risk.

In a win for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, a judge has found that payday lender Sunshine Loans charged thousands of customers prohibited fees, issuing a scathing judgment condemning the company’s “wrongheaded” conduct.

ASX-listed gourmet food company Maggie Beer has been dragged to court by the founders of Hampers & Gifts Australia over a $10 million earnout that was part of a $40 million agreement to acquire the e-commerce company in 2021. 

A class action seeking to hold a regional NSW law firm liable for the actions of a former employee who was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for fraud offences in 2021 has reached a settlement. 

Attacks at trial on the credibility of Bruce Lehrmann hit their target, but it’s still his case to lose on Monday morning, when judgment is delivered on his defamation claims against Ten. Throughout the case the network has borne the burden of proving Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation was true, and it is the very seriousness of that allegation that made the task harder.