Judges

An appeals court has held that a Sydney solicitor can't be sued for negligence for a failure to include a breach of contract claim in a building dispute, saying the lawyer was protected by advocate’s immunity because his decision was “intimately connected” with the litigation.

In a decade-old dispute, Viterra has lost an appeal of a judgment holding it liable to pay Cargill Australia $293 million for misrepresentations about the performance of its malt producer Joe White, which it sold to Cargill for $420 million in 2013.

Queensland lender SunshineLoans has lost its second bid for the Full Court to decide whether ASIC has the power to bring civil penalty proceedings for violations of the Credit Code, with a judge finding its arguments were not strong enough to vacate an upcoming trial.

Hannover Life Re should be allowed tax credits for GST paid on a share of its overheads, including rent and power, a judge has found in a partial win for the reinsurer.

Nine has partially won its bid to include evidence about the reputation of Euro Pacific CEO Peter Schiff in an attempt to minimise the damages it will owe after abandoning its substantive defences in defamation proceedings by the bank boss.

The French association representing wine producers from Champagne is appealing a recent trade mark loss to an Australian health retailer, claiming a product being sold on Aussie shelves is using its coveted name without assurances it originates from the French region. 

Drug maker Sanofi-Aventis is not liable for the federal government’s losses for excess subsidies paid for the blood-thinner Plavix after an allegedly unjustified court injunction prevented the release of a generic version of the blockbuster drug, an appeals court has found.

Discount retail chain The Reject Shop has foreshadowed two challenges to an underpayments class action, claiming store managers were not covered by the general retail award and that their allegations have to be run individually. 

A court has signed off on a settlement in a six-year-old class action against mining services company Thiess by fly-in fly-out workers recruited for construction of a Woodside Energy LNG plant in WA's Pilbara region.

Seven Network has appealed a ruling that revoked its 7NOW trade mark for non-use in a victory for convenience chain 7-Eleven as it seeks to expand its presence in Australia.