Geoffrey Rush briefs new top silk to fight Nationwide defamation appeal

A court has barred US drug company Merck Sharp & Dohme from denying that an agreement made with German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA was governed by German law, settling a key question before a trade mark case between the two drug giants goes to trial.

Two former executives of Hastie Services have been cleared of criminal charges that they engaged in a conspiracy to falsify the company’s accounts, with a judge ordering the jury to enter verdicts of not guilty on all charges.

A judge overseeing a class action against engineering company UGL has agreed to extend a class closure order to give the parties a second chance to resolve the case in mediation, but not without expressing concerns that the order did not have the intended effect of encouraging settlement at the first sit-down.

Sportsbet’s application to register ‘Same Game Multi’ as a trade mark has been rejected, with the Registrar of Trade Marks relying on statements in the company’s own market research that its betting product should “do exactly what it says on the tin” to find the mark insufficiently distinctive.

The dispute between Rugby Australia and Israel Folau is presently one between two parties. However, recent comments made to the media by RA’s Chairman have given rise to speculation that its sponsors may have played a significant part in Folau’s dismissal. There are several potential bases upon which the sponsors could be dragged into the ongoing dispute, says HopgoodGanim’s Jon Erbacher.

A judge has refused to approve Piper Alderman’s $3.5 million in legal fees charged for running a class action against KPMG, appointing Grant Thornton as contradictor and giving the auditor the ability to seek assistance from the court for any future disputes about the controversial bill.

Indonesian national airline Garuda faces a possible contempt motion by the competition regulator for failing to pay a $19 million court-issued fine after it was found guilty of air cargo price-fixing, a failure a judge called “almost unthinkable”.

The former directors of troubled fund manager IOOF have slammed APRA for bringing a “truly hopeless” disqualification case against them, telling a court the prudential […]

Slater & Gordon is probing a possible class action against Allergan Australia on behalf of women who developed a rare form of lymphoma linked to […]

Two former executives of Dick Smith may seek to vacate an upcoming trial date for two class actions against the failed retailer, after recently being […]