The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has lost a bid to have the Federal Court decide a threshold legal question in its dodgy home loan case against Westpac, which is going to trial after a $35 million settlement got the thumbs down.
The consumer watchdog has sought more than $1.5 million in penalties against debt collector ACM Group after the company was found liable for harassing vulnerable customers, but a judge on Tuesday questioned whether the fine, which could leave the company insolvent, was too punitive.
The Commissioner of Patents will seek to toss a case simultaneously challenging its decisions to accept, grant and certify an innovation patent owned by one of Australia’s biggest building product firms.
Labour hire company Workpac has been fined just $1,650 after a groundbreaking Full Federal Court decision that a casual employee could be eligible for annual leave, with a judge saying the low penalty reflected the lack of clarity in the law.
The funder that’s bankrolling a shareholder class action against Murray Goulburn is seeking court approval for a funding agreement under which it would get a 28 per cent cut of any settlement.
The court will issue a judgment Wednesday in one of two closely watched cases awaiting judgment that may move the dial on the patentability of computer software.
The Commonwealth has urged the court to strike out the “inconsistent” pleadings of pharmaceutical firms Otsuka and Bristol-Myers Squibb in a patent case over the antipsychotic drug Abilify, calling them a “scandal” which could bring disrepute to the administration of justice.
Maurice Blackburn stands to walk away with $5.8 million for its work on a consumer class action against Cash Converters that resulted in a $16.4 million settlement.
Defending against a fourth trade mark infringement lawsuit by the UK’s Scotch Whisky Association, Australian liquor retailer D’Aquino Bros has told a court all of its Scotch Whisky was distilled in Scotland, and it has the paperwork to prove it.
The corporate cop’s case against Westpac over allegedly irresponsible lending practices will go to trial after the Federal Court rejected the bank’s $35 million settlement.