Judges

Former attorney-general Christian Porter has told the Full Court that silk Sue Chrysanthou had to act for him in his defamation action against the ABC over an article airing historical rape allegations, saying she could not refuse the brief simply because a friend of his rape accuser “wishes him ill”.

The High Court has agreed to weigh in on whether property data analytics firm CoreLogic infringed a real estate photographer’s copyright by uploading images from realestate.com.au to its platform.

An Australian designer of a trendy neoprene handbag sold at high-end department stores has lost an appeal which challenged a judge’s finding that its flagship bag was not a work of artistic craftsmanship.

IOOF unit RI Advice has agreed to settle novel proceedings brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission claiming it failed to protect its clients against cybersecurity risks.

NewSat investor Rockgold Holdings has lost its bid to appoint a special purpose liquidator to run a lawsuit against eight major banks after a judge found its proposed 70 per cent funding fee “wholly disproportionate”.

The husband of Sydney conwoman Melissa Caddick has staked his claim to a share of his late wife’s estate, and asked the court to deliver up a bundle of property, including Caddick’s Gucci wedding dress.

Pest control giant Rentokil has won its case against a former manager over an alleged multi-million dollar fraudulent invoice scheme, with a court ruling the company is owed $3.38 million plus almost $200,000 in interest. 

A judge has made a long-awaited award of damages to travellers who were promised a “once in a lifetime cruise along the grand waterways of Europe” but were instead forced to take the bus from city to city.

The High Court has rejected a bid by shareholders of collapsed investment advisory firm Babcock & Brown for special leave to seek a re-trial of their cases alleging disclosure breaches because of the trial judge’s “excessive” three-year delay in delivering judgment.

The Full Court has overturned a landmark judgment which found artificial intelligence can be named as an inventor on patent applications, in a decision which brings Australia in line with findings from courts in the UK, US and EU.