Judges

A senior in-house lawyer at Dexus has rejected suggestions she was “careless” in her role in the sale of shares in Melbourne Airport operator APAC, saying she relied on a subordinate lawyer and others within the business. 

Lawyers assured two Dexus executives that it was OK to share the confidential information of Melbourne Airport operator APAC with proposed purchasers of the real estate asset manager's stake in the company, a court has heard.

Liquidators for defunct construction group Hastie have launched a bid in its Federal Court case against Hall & Wilcox to refer a $18.6 million bill from the law firm to a costs assessor.

A judge has asked for more information on why he should approve $43.1 million in legal fees in a class action against AMP that settled for $120 million, calling the amount "extraordinary" and "troubling".

A judge has threatened to vacate the trial in Dexus’ case against Melbourne Airport operator APAC after all the defendants tried to file documents late, suggesting the lawyers may be hit with personal costs orders.

A judge has said he will not be able to decide all the suppression applications in the ACCC’s misuse of market power case against Mastercard ahead of trial, saying the court was facing an “unreasonable, if not oppressive” burden.

Pharmacor is resisting AstraZeneca’s notice to produce in an intellectual property fight over diabetes drug Forxiga, claiming privilege over material evidencing its consideration of a new claim challenging the validity of a patent extension.

A former RAMS franchisee has raised concerns about a joint trial of its case with a related class action against the defunct Westpac home loan subsidiary, saying the overlap between the cases may be “much less than advertised”.

Questioning of the first witness in Dexus' case against Melbourne Airport's operator was an hour in when trial was halted by the judge, who complained of flying by the seat of his pants, documentary evidence-wise.

German car hire company SIXT has attacked the Darwin International airport owner's construction of their lease contract in a $1.9 million spat over the appropriate formula for rent calculations, saying it was trying to have the "best of both worlds".