Judgment

The Australian Energy Regulator must repay AGL a $25 million penalty secured by the watchdog in a Federal Court case, after the power company prevailed on appeal.

Fashion retailer City Beach has lost an appeal of a $14 million penalty secured by the consumer regulator in the first enforcement action for breaches of button battery safety standards.

Discount grocery giant Aldi has partially succeeded on appeal of a finding that its Mamia Baby Puffs copied the look of rival Little Bellies baby snacks, but still faces possible additional damages for what a judge said was "flagrant" infringement.

The ATO has lost its appeal of a ruling that put it on the hook for $35 million after a judge found it received millions misappropriated by a former Kupang Resources director in order to satisfy a tax debt against him. 

HWL Ebsworth has lost its bid to summarily dismiss a former partner’s case alleging the firm unlawfully discriminated against him on the basis of age when it expelled him from the partnership.

The former majority owner of NY-based Infrastructure Capital Holdings has won its bid for documents ahead of mediation in a suit alleging Foresight Group Holdings undervalued the company's investments in Kinetic and Zenith Energy, which sold for a combined $5.7 billion last year.

M Resources Trading has won its challenge to a decision setting aside a $1.07 million statutory demand it issued to defunct mining company Australian Pacific Coal, with an appeals court finding there was no genuine dispute over the debt.

There is a time for everything, as Ecclesiastes says, but who has time for class actions that plead everything and the kitchen sink, a vexed judge wants to know, calling on litigants to home in on the real contest in their cases.

A contractor on a project in the Pilbara has lost its bid for a $1.5 million freezing order against a subcontractor, with a judge finding no evidence it would be unable to satisfy any future judgment related to their payments dispute.

A judge has ruled that building materials giant Boral breached its continuous disclosure obligations, in a win for a class action, but will wait on the High Court's ruling in cases against CBA before deciding whether shareholders have established damages.