Norton Rose

Noumi and ASIC are challenging a finding that the food manufacturer waived legal professional privilege over a PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by its lawyers at Ashurst by disclosing the report during an ASIC investigation.

The liquidators of collapsed engineering company Hastie Group have lost their bid to appeal a decision that knocked out half its $120 million case against Multiplex, Lendlease and numerous other builders.

A former HWL Ebsworth client has lost his argument that the firm must reimburse him for $22.8 million in expenses and interest after a judge found the law firm was negligent in advising on a joint venture contract for a Sydney land development, which allegedly lost him $130 million. 

The High Court has been asked to weigh in on whether a client needs to prove it could have exploited a lost commercial right in order to prevail in a law firm negligence case, after HWL Ebsworth successfully appealed a decision that found its bad advice over property in Parramatta’s ‘Auto Alley’ cost a client $2 million.

The Full Federal Court has found the court’s recently-affirmed power to make common fund orders at settlement means the litigation funder that backed two class actions against 7-Eleven is entitled to a $24.5 million cut from a $98 million settlement, in a decision that slammed the parties for a settlement approval process that “went off the rails”, costing group members $2.5 million.

The litigation funder that bankrolled a patent infringement case by a vehicle monitoring systems manufacturer is on the hook for legal costs after technology company SARB succeeded in appealing a finding that it infringed the IP for a parking detection system used by the City of Melbourne. 

A US-based animal genomics company has taken Australia’s leading livestock and dairy groups to court, alleging they have infringed its patent for a system for conducting genetic testing on beef and dairy cattle by doing genetic testing without a licence.

The majority shareholders of vitamin giant Nature’s Care have been hit with the costs of the company’s failed bid for an injunction against its founding family, after a judge found the shareholders appear to have caused proceedings to be commenced as part of a strategy to “override the rights” of the family. 

A former director of Noumi has won his challenge to the food manufacturer’s claim for legal professional privilege over a PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by its lawyers at Ashurst, with a judge finding the company waived privilege by disclosing it to Australian Securities and Investments Commission. 

Dental aligner maker Invisalign has won an appeal of a decision rejecting its case accusing SmileDirectClub of misleading consumers, but the appeals court noted that the prospect of a new trial was “remote” after its competitor went under.