Law Firms

The High Court has held that a contractor had a “prima facie entitlement” to recoup the costs of building an aircraft hangar in Cessnock, NSW, which it spent in reliance on the local government performing its obligations under their contract, in a case that clarifies how courts should assess reliance damages claims. 

The High Court had been asked to clarify the extent of protection for employers for genuine redundancies under the Fair Work Act, after an appeals court found the exemption was “not absolute”.

IP services giant IPH Limited, which owns IP boutiques Spruson & Ferguson and Griffith Hack, has made an offer worth $265 million to acquire its rival QANTM Limited, after failing to woo its main competitor with a takeover bid in 2018.

Melbourne personal injury firm Law Partners Compensation Lawyers has successfully opposed a small Queensland firm’s registration of the name ‘Australian Law Partners’, with IP Australia saying ALP’s claim to distinctiveness was “not compelling.” 

In a highly unusual move, the applicant in an employment class action against hospitality giant Merivale has reneged on an $18 million settlement, saying a jump in group member registration since the deal was struck means the sum would no longer win court approval.

Budget Australian airline Bonza owes almost 58,000 customers, 320 employees and 130 suppliers after it was put into voluntary administration last week when aircraft lessors claimed the airline was in default and grounded its planes, a court has heard. 

International fugitive Jean Nassif, who headed troubled property developer Toplace, has lost his bid to reinstate defamation proceedings against Harbour Radio and 2GB host Ray Hadley, with a judge saying there was no evidence he would return to Australia to prosecute the case. 

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 funder of a class action by financial advisers against AMP is seeking a $28.5 million profit from a $100 million settlement, a hefty payout that has prompted the appointment of a contradictor but may survive the scrutiny in light of a recent appeals court decision.

Instagram has resolved a long-running intellectual property stoush with an Australian dating app over its use of the ‘Instagoods’ and ‘Instadate’ marks.