Events

Victoria will continue to be a magnet for class actions after the High Court shot down solicitors' common fund orders as clashing with NSW law, but the door may still be open for garden state lawyers to try their luck in the Federal Court.

A judge has spiked Piper Alderman's class action alleging Google abuses its dominance in digital advertising, favouring a competing case run jointly by two other firms, despite suggesting such arrangements hinted at lawyers “passing the prize around”. 

The High Court has unanimously found the Federal Court has no power to allow solicitors to take a cut of a settlement or judgment in a shareholder class action against Blue Sky, saying it would be contrary to rules against contingency fees in NSW. 

Craft brewer Better Beer has lost a challenge to rival TRADIE’s bid to register a trade mark for the promotional phrase 'TRADIE Beer Built Better', with IP Australia finding no real danger of confusion between the brands.

The applicant in a long-running class action over the government's live exports ban has lodged an appeal after a judge has found that no additional cattle would have been exported to Indonesia in 2012 and 2013 if the ban had not been in place.

Kmart is facing legal action to determine whether the retail giant has engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct over alleged forced labour of members of a Chinese ethnic minority group.

German car hire company SIXT has sued Darwin International and Alice Springs airports for $1.9 million, alleging its lease arrangements with the airports did not allow for rent reductions. 

A barrister who claimed a conviction for contempt had "slipped his mind" has lost an appeal of a decision finding he was not a fit and proper person to hold a practicing certificate.

The operator of a gym previously inside a Bankstown RSL club has scored a partial win on appeal against its new landlord, but has only received nominal damages of $10. 

A judge has refused to force the sale of a Footscray property used for logistics services, estimated to be worth $23 million, saying an agreement by the co-owners to sell it by a deadline could no longer be performed.