Justice Richard White

McDonald’s Australia has been joined as a second respondent in a union-led lawsuit that accuses the fast food giant of “conspiring to deliberately deny workers their breaks”.

Embattled Sydney accountant Vanda Gould has lost his defamation case against the Commissioner of Taxation, with a court finding Chris Jordan’s defamatory comments constituted a “robust”, but proportional, counter-attack to Gould’s public disparagement of the Australian Tax Office.

Class action claims brought by trainees against convenience store chain On The Run may be discontinued because of high costs and lack of commonality if an application before the Federal Court is successful.

A former financial planner found to have engaged in a data breach at National Australia Bank will have her adverse action lawsuit against the bank partially reheard after an appeals court found the judge who tossed the case failed to properly consider why she was fired.

Defence minister Peter Dutton has given evidence of his “hurt” at trial in a defamation case over a tweet accusing him of being a rape apologist, while the judge presiding over the hearing has warned lawyers for the tweeter to act as solicitors not “supporters”.

The Full Federal Court has issued a severe rebuke to a judge for his decision in an employment dispute, calling the judgment a “disordered stream of consciousness” and saying it had no choice but to send the matter back for a retrial.

Sydney retail personality Con Constantine has lost an appeal seeking to bolster a $4.25 million judgment in his favour over the $81.8 million Parklea Markets sale in 2016.

A solicitor who admitted to allegations of professional misconduct has lost a NSW Court of Appeal bid for the costs of a NCAT proceeding to be paid from the state’s Public Purpose Fund, despite twice winning appeals of the tribunal’s findings.

Australian software company TechnologyOne has succeeded in its challenge to a $5.2 million judgment in an unfair dismissal case by a former high ranking executive, with an appeals court sending the matter back for a retrial.

The High Court has found casual employees who work regular shifts are not entitled to paid annual, personal and compassionate leave under the Fair Work Act, putting the fate of seven class actions by casual miners in question.