Six law firms are working on a consolidated trial of multiple class actions over the collapse of retailer Dick Smith, but when the trial opened in the NSW Supreme Court this week, a lone barrister appeared in court before Justice Michael Ball, amid a sea of empty bar tables. Most of the hearing’s participants joined through a virtual courtroom while members of the public were invited to watch the trial unfold on a YouTube live stream. Welcome to litigating in the age of the coronavirus.
AFT Pharmaceuticals has lost its challenge to a ruling that ads claiming its painkiller Maxigesic is more effective than Nuremol were misleading and deceptive, with the Full Federal Court saying the primary judge did not err in finding the ads lacked an adequate scientific basis.
Two law firms have mandated that staff begin working from home to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, while others begin shifting their workforce offsite as firms test their ability to weather what is expected to be a prolonged public health crisis.
BP has appealed a ruling from the Fair Work Commission that reinstated a worker who was fired for sharing a video clip which included subtitles placed over a scene from the movie Downfall about Adolf Hitler.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has scored a victory before the High Court, with the court unanimously finding that the term “officer” under the Corporations Act is not limited to those that hold official positions within a company.
Venture capitalist Elaine Stead is pushing forward with her defamation case against the Nine-owned Fairfax Media despite what she has called an “inadequate” third attempt at a defence by the publisher.
Hotel booking aggregator Trivago has appealed a ruling that it misled consumers about its cheapest price promise by arranging listings according to payments it received instead of the hotel room price.
A judge has granted a request by Otsuka and Bristol-Myers Squibbs to withdraw admissions in proceedings brought by Generic Health seeking damages, after the generic drug maker was temporarily blocked from selling a generic version of antipsychotic Abilify in a patent dispute in which it ultimately triumphed.
A refinery worker sacked by BP over a parody Hitler video has won his job back after a Fair Work Commission appeals panel overturned a prior decision upholding his dismissal, finding that the clip he shared was not offensive or inappropriate.
A former managing director of Australian civil infrastructure contractor WBHO Infrastructure and his firm have lost their bid to cross-examine the company’s instructing solicitor at Corrs Chambers Westgarth as part of a $1 million share dispute that followed his termination.