Judgment

In tossing his challenge to a finding that he committed war crimes in Afghanistan, an appeals court rejected Ben Roberts-Smith’s criticisms of the trial judge, finding the judge gave sufficient weight to the presumption of innocence. 

The NSW Land and Environment Court has signed off on a land valuation agreed to between real estate investment manager Investa and the Valuer General for the site of the Coca-Cola Place tower in North Sydney.

A judge has recused herself from hearing the Victorian legal watchdog’s case against the owners of a law firm, saying she was "fortified" in that choice due to concerns raised about her longstanding relationship with the regulator’s CEO. 

Apple has defeated a claim by an Australian non-practicing entity that its patents for a remote entry system were infringed by the tech company’s Touch ID and Face ID technology. 

Administrators of construction company Roberts Co Victoria, which owes $272 million to 470 creditors, are justified in treating funds as if held on trust for subcontractors on six projects in Melbourne, a judge has found.

The failure of two class actions to prove loss linked to the Commonwealth Bank's disclosure breaches was not the fault of the bank, an appeals court has held in dealing the latest blow to shareholder group proceedings. 

An appeals court has rejected Keybridge CEO Nick Bolton's challenge to a ruling that found that he and two other directors were validly removed at a board meeting, finding in favour of shareholder WAM Active. 

HCF Life insurance has been hit with a $750,000 penalty for including a pre-existing condition term in a life insurance policy, which a judge found was likely to mislead.

Resolving a split between courts, the High Court has confirmed that judges have power to make soft class closure orders, which require class action members to register before mediation to participate in any resulting settlement.

A Melbourne law firm has been hit with a $48,840 penalty in a case by a junior lawyer who was required to work over 200 hours in three weeks, including several days and nights spent working around the clock in a hotel.