Derek Wong

A top in-house lawyer at Dexus has told a court the real estate asset manager was using an altered form of a non-disclosure agreement with bidders of a portion of its APAC bloc of shares without the approval of the airport operator's co-owners.

The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia has failed in its bid for special leave to the High Court, after an appeals court found it couldn't escape unfair dismissal proceedings.

The court battle between APAC and major shareholder Dexus over the sale of an investor's stake in the airport operator went to a hearing this week, but it's the solicitors representing the warring parties that found themselves on trial.

A senior in-house lawyer at Dexus has rejected suggestions she was “careless” in her role in the sale of shares in Melbourne Airport operator APAC, saying she relied on a subordinate lawyer and others within the business. 

Lawyers assured two Dexus executives that it was OK to share the confidential information of Melbourne Airport operator APAC with proposed purchasers of the real estate asset manager's stake in the company, a court has heard.

A judge has threatened to vacate the trial in Dexus’ case against Melbourne Airport operator APAC after all the defendants tried to file documents late, suggesting the lawyers may be hit with personal costs orders.

Questioning of the first witness in Dexus' case against Melbourne Airport's operator was an hour in when trial was halted by the judge, who complained of flying by the seat of his pants, documentary evidence-wise.

A group member in a class action against Johnson & Johnson unit Depuy that resolved 14 years ago has successfully challenged his compensation award, with an appeals court finding the independent counsel who calculated his payout was bound by rules of procedural fairness. 

A judge has approved a $50 million settlement in a class action against ANZ and superannuation trustee OnePath, but has slashed by half a proposed $1.76 million deduction for the plaintiff firm's after-the-event insurance.

Dexus can question APAC's chair on the material relied on by the Melbourne Airport operator in issuing a default notice requiring the real estate asset manager to sell its stake, ahead of trial in a fight over the validity of the notice.