Judges

In another victory for ASIC in a case stemming from the banking royal commission, a judge has ruled that TAL Life Limited breached the Insurance Contracts Act after denying coverage to a cancer patient and threatening to recover $24,000 it had already paid to her.

The High Court has ruled that the tax office was not obliged to refund money for tax surpluses mistakenly issued under the GST Act, in a long-running legal dispute between the Commissioner of Taxation and foreign currency exchange Travelex.

Judges have power to manage competing class actions by picking a winner in a so-called beauty parade, the High Court has ruled, but there is no one size fits all approach to the decision, and the law firm that files first is not guaranteed the coveted prize.

The lead plaintiffs in two class actions against 7-Eleven have appealed a decision rejecting the very first Federal Court application for oral discovery, which would have seen four former employees bound by confidentiality agreements give evidence.

A judge has found a group of insurers defending a $309 million lawsuit over an Australia Pacific LNG project in Central Queensland cannot be represented by two law firms, saying it would not be in the interests of justice.

The first battle in the legal tug of war between Qantas and Virgin over a defecting senior executive will centre on whose lawsuit should be the one to ventilate the dispute, a court heard Tuesday.

Generic pharmaceutical company Sandoz has hit back in an intellectual property lawsuit by Merck Sharp & Dohme, filing a cross-claim that seeks to undo an extension of time granted to the US drug manufacturer for a patent relating to its multibillion dollar Januvia and Janumet diabetes drugs.

After months of uncertainty and a scolding from the judge about "vague" excuses, former Linchpin Capital directors facing proceedings by ASIC and a class of investors have been given assurance that their legal costs will be covered under an insurance policy.

An accountant who was kicked out of an Australia and New Zealand accounting association after a court found he sexually harassed a colleague has failed to win readmission after being unable to find an eligible member who could vouch for him in a character reference.

A legal battle in the Federal Court between Freedom Foods and Blue Diamond Growers over an almond milk licensing deal has been stayed so the parties can arbitrate their dispute in California, where the Australian Consumer Law will apply.