Judgment

Keybridge Capital chief executive officer Nicholas Bolton has lost his appeal of a costs review panel decision that saddled him with a legal bill of $308,940 for work done by Atanaskovic Hartnell for his company in a dispute with Brookfield Multiplex.

A judge has tossed an unconscionable conduct case against IT company IT&C, but declined to order costs against the individual applicant, citing his "many years of experience", but no firm evidence, in support of a finding that the order would harm the man’s mental health.

Subcontractor EnerMech has won an appeal in its fight against Acciona over a $10 million progress payment for work on the Westconnex M4-M5 link, with an appeals court finding the question of whether EnerMech's claim was a payment claim for construction work was a matter for an adjudicator, not the court.

The French association representing wine producers from Champagne has discontinued its lawsuit against an Australian retailer after it agreed to only use seed extract from the Champagne region of France. 

In a win for ASIC, the Federal Court has found that non-bank lender Firstmac Limited breached the design and distribution obligations, introduced in 2021, by marketing a managed investment scheme that could be unsuitable for customers’ financial needs. 

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that an electrician with BlueScope Steel was unfairly dismissed following a complaint by a coworker who did not give evidence to the commission, finding that it was “abundantly unfair” for the complaint to be advanced as hearsay evidence.

An appeals court has rejected a challenge by a woman who said she was given negligent advice by her lawyers about two settlement offers which she rejected, finding that she would not have taken advice to accept the offers in any case.

A judge has ordered Seven West-owned publication The West Australian to pay a former public servant $180,000 in damages over an article about an allegation of fraud that had “a sensationalist overtone”.

The Dietitians Association of Australia can't register a logo featuring the words 'accredited nutritionist' as a trade mark, with a delegate agreeing with a competing nutritionist group that the association should not have a monopoly over the highly descriptive term.

Lawyers are allowed to take a cut from a class action settlement or judgment under a so-called solicitors’ common fund order, the Full Federal Court has ruled, saying they are a permissive use of the court’s power.