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Westpac hit with $26M penalty for ignoring hardship applications
Westpac has been hit with a $26 million penalty -- just shy of the $30 million sought by ASIC -- for failing to respond to online hardship applications on time on 277 occasions, in conduct described as “grossly negligent”. 
Class action against Phoslock, KPMG can’t delay security amid ATE talks
A judge has rejected a bid by a shareholder class action against water treatment firm Phoslock and auditor KPMG to put off paying $1.6 million in overdue cash security while negotiations about an ATE policy are on foot.
Full Court’s ‘demanding’ new standard for divisional patents
A recent judgment that clarified the date for assessing best method knowledge for divisional patents appears to create new difficulties for patent applicants, lawyers say.
Appeals court upholds win for landowners in bushfire mass tort
The family of the late pastoralist Thomas Brickworth is on the hook for damage caused by a 2021 bushfire, after an appeals court found it was reasonable to conclude that the fire originated from a vegetation heap that smouldered for months before catching fire. 
Judge OKs QSuper settlement, raps funder for ‘brazen and unjustified’ claim
A judge has approved a $67 million settlement in a class action against QSuper but has trimmed the payout for the litigation funder, criticising it for a "brazen and unjustified" deduction that was dropped during the hearing.
Cosette on hook for $13M in jilted Mayne’s legal fees
It ditched a planned $627 million union, now US drug maker Cosette must pay more than $13 million toward Mayne Pharma's costs of the legal fallout. Whether it owes the "substantial damages" Mayne is claiming is an issue for another day.
Insider trader Rodney Forrest wins appeal of prison sentence
An appeals court has shaved nine months off ex-investment banker Rodney Forrest's prison sentence for insider trading, after he accessed confidential information from the computer of Platinum Asset Management's chairman about a takeover offer.
Construction PRO
‘Exceptional circumstances’ not needed to stay SOPA determination, judge says
A judge has stayed a judgment under the Security of Payment Act, finding that “exceptional circumstances” were not needed to justify such an order in light of a recent judgment that issued a rare stay of a SOPA determination.
Construction PRO
Owners win $2.5M in defects suit over Sydney development
The owners corporation of a 36-unit apartment block in North Sydney that has been locked in a long-running fight with the developers over defects has won $2.5 million after the parties settled on the eve of the trial.
Doctor brings declassing bid in cosmetic surgery group action
Cosmetic surgeon Dr Daniel Lanzer wants to strip a case of class action status, arguing claims he and other doctors passed themselves off as plastic surgeons were not suitable for a group proceeding.