Jesse Kennedy

REST Nominees has lost an injunction bid barring the sale of the Dexus bloc of shares in Melbourne Airport's operator pending an appeal, after refusing to give an undertaking that it foot the entire damages bill if its challenge fails.

Airport operator APAC says a default notice sent to Dexus over confidentiality breaches is at least valid against shareholders that initiated a botched sales process, hedging its bets in an appeal of a ruling that forces a sale of the asset manager's entire stake.

Dexus' decision to resist an undertaking as part of a deal to temporarily block the compulsory sale of its shares in airport operator APAC has been criticised by a judge for resulting in an "appalling waste" of time and money.

A judge has allowed a 50 per cent fee uplift for counsel in an epic fight over lucrative tenements in the Pilbara region, but says the hourly fees of solicitors from the likes of Allens, Clayton Utz and Corrs were already well above market rate.

Super fund trustee REST Nominees is the first of the Dexus bloc of APAC shareholders to challenge a finding that a default notice issued by the board of the airport operator was valid.

Engineering firm Clough Projects Australia has lost its challenge to a judge's decision that stayed a $55 million cross-claim against former EnergyConnect joint venture partner Elecnor but kept Elecnor's case alive.

The forced divestiture of Dexus' stake in airport operator APAC will proceed, after a court on Friday discharged injunctions temporarily blocking the sale amid a dispute over the disclosure of confidential information.

Dexus has stood down executives, sacked its advisers and launched a review of its $7 billion infrastructure division, following last week's judgment upholding the validity of a default notice by Melbourne Airport's operator.

Heads may roll after a court on Friday rejected the evidence of key Dexus employees at trial over a breach of APAC's shareholder deed, in a ruling that revealed some insiders suspected the "embarassing blunder" would come back to bite.

Dexus has lost its case over the validity of a default notice issued by Melbourne Aiport's operator, with a judge saying the real estate asset manager breached the company's confidentiality and "irrevocably undermined" its relationship with fellow shareholders.