The High Court has declined to hear a case that challenges the power of judges to make common fund orders at the close of litigation, a challenge the Federal Court had labelled “hypothetical”.
Sacked climate skeptic professor Peter Ridd brought his case challenging his dismissal by James Cook University to the High Court on Wednesday, with a lawyer for Ridd telling the justices that his sacking was unlawful because intellectual freedom was a “foundational’ principle that could not be subordinated to the university’s code of conduct.
The power to make common fund orders in class actions is a question before the High Court a second time, but the justices aren’t likely to quell the conflict simmering in the courts below, at least until they have a concrete order before them.
The High Court has denied a request from former senator David Leyonhjelm to challenge a ruling ordering him to pay $120,000 to Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young for defaming her with “crass” and “obviously sexist” comments made in a series of interviews in 2018.
Volkswagen has asked the High Court to throw out a a landmark $125 million penalty over its emissions cheating scandal, the highest ever handed down in Australia for consumer law violations.
The High Court has denied the ATO’s request that it weigh in on Australia’s transfer pricing regime, leaving in place a Full Court victory for mining giant Glencore that left it paying $2 million of a $92 million bill relating to the sale of copper from a mine in Cobar, NSW.
A former solicitor in the Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions who claims she suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder and depression from repeated exposure to sexual offence cases will get a chance to make her case before the High Court.
The High Court has ordered mining magnate Clive Palmer to pay Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan’s costs for contempt proceedings brought against him during the war of words that erupted between the pair over the state’s decision to close its borders at the height of the coronavirus pandemic last year.
The High Court has granted special leave to the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner in a case dealing with how the CFMEU’s history as a serial offender should have been considered when assessing the penalty the union should face for breaches of the Fair Work Act.
The High Court has denied special leave to unions representing 20,000 Qantas workers who were stood down during the coronavirus pandemic to challenge a ruling that they were not entitled to paid sick or compassionate leave.