Agricultural fund management firm Rural Funds Management is seeking over $625,000 in damages from US short seller Bonitas Research, which was found by the NSW Supreme Court to have engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in a report describing RFM’s equity as “ultimately worthless” that sent the firm’s share price plummeting.
The builder behind the ill-fated Opal Tower has lost its opposition in the NSW Supreme Court to a $3.9 million guarantee requested by the property’s developer, after a judge found it had not proved compliance with its contractual obligations.
Litigation funder Augusta Ventures has had its appeal of a groundbreaking ruling that put it on the hook for security for costs in a Fair Work class action pushed back by three months after a delayed case management hearing, with a Federal Court judge telling the parties they were to blame.
The City of Melbourne has rejected a claim for damages for allegedly infringing a patented parking detection system created by tech firm Vehicle Monitoring Systems, saying it was not aware of the existence of two patents underlying the invention.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says it has no grounds to challenge a ruling that found the $15 billion merger of Vodafone with telecommunications rival TPG would not substantially lessen competition.
The maker of Vagisil feminine hygiene products has appealed a ruling that denied its bid to stop a European competitor from registering Vagisan as a trade mark in Australia.
A Sydney-based childcare centre that sent an allegedly defamatory email to 35 people has won its appeal of a $238,000 damages award, with an appeals court calling the figure “manifestly excessive” and questioning the “fundamental approach to damages” in defamation cases in NSW.
A former executive of engineering giant Bechtel will be allowed to deduct over $11.8 million in share losses from his taxable income after successfully challenging a ruling to the Full Federal Court, in a decision that clarifies taxation law for income and capital regarding asset trades.
A former Piper Alderman partner is seeking to revive her unlawful discrimination case dismissed last year by the Australian Human Rights Commission, saying the seriousness of the allegations and the “public importance” of protecting women leaders from discrimination were powerful reasons to allow her claims to move forward.
A judge has signed off on a $2 million payout for Maddens Lawyers in a class action against electricity provider Powercor over a 2018 St Patrick’s Day bushfire in Victoria that settled last year for $17.5 million, despite finding that the law firm’s cost agreement with group members was void.