A former National Rugby League referee has lost his unfair dismissal lawsuit alleging he suffered bullying and victimisation, with a judge finding the league did not terminate his employment but “acted passively” in letting his contract term end.
A litigation funder must pay indemnity costs to CoreLogic after bankrolling a photographer’s unsuccessful copyright claim against the property data analytics company, with an appeals court finding it pursued the litigation for its own personal gain.
Judges were not afraid to vent their spleen in 2023, but lawyers were not the only object of judicial scorn last year, as judges waded into public discourse and sounded off over issues including complex legislation, media reports, famous social media commentators, and the involvement of government departments in legal proceedings.
A court fight has broken out between a vaccine developer and South Australia’s Flinders University over the supply of mice and access to a lab at the college, with the professor’s lawyer declaring the battle “literally a matter of life and death”.
A judge has handed a partial win to homewares brand Bed Bath N’ Table, finding rival House misled consumers by opening a sub-brand called House Bed & Bath but rejecting the retailer’s trade mark infringement claims.
The country’s most experienced class action law firm won two and lost two in last year’s beauty parades before the courts, showing track record is not everything when it comes to winning carriage of cases and that picking the winner can be a tricky business. From line-ball decisions to law firm team-ups and the lowest contingency fee order yet, here’s how 2023’s class action contests went down.
Energy company Santos has defeated a challenge by a Tiwi Islander traditional custodian to the construction of a pipeline for its $5.6 billion Barossa gas project, with a judge rejecting expert evidence about risks to cultural heritage.
Developer Centurion Australia Investments has lost an appeal in a dispute with builder APM Group in which it argued that its RMIT Village student accommodation falls under laws applying to domestic buildings.
Over three years into a class action against failed asset finance lender Axsesstoday and auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers over a $50 million prospectus, the applicant has won the green light to add four insurers to the case.
Electric car giant Tesla has brought court proceedings against a NSW man seeking the removal of documents from the web, including material allegedly leaked by a former employee who recently raised concerns about the company’s self-driving software.