Judges

The High Court has approved the imposition of additional land tax on non-residents and foreign-owned entities, finding that the Commonwealth government had the power to limit the application of international tax agreements.

A judge has largely given the go-ahead to Buildcorp Group's proposed amendments to cross-claims as trial gets under way in a case over aluminium cladding at Star Entertainment's Sydney casino.

Realside Rundle Square wants a preliminary question on a term in its lease heard first in a suit against M3Property and a valuer alleging tenants of Adelaide's Rundle Mall in Adelaide have been overcharged for rent since 2006 due to valuation flaws. 

Energy infrastructure contractor Zinfra has won its bid to strike out 25 paragraphs in a union's underpayment case dealing with the employees as a group, with a judge finding the pleadings were insufficient.

Upping the ante in sprawling litigation over the failure of Greensill Capital, the global finance firm's bank has won an anti-anti-suit injunction against Marsh that bars the insurer from prosecuting its UK case.

Formalwear brand Portia & Scarlett, which has accused one of its founders of accessing confidential dress designs contained in two computer files, has asked a court for access to her personal devices.

Buildcorp Group is pointing the finger at a host of subcontractors as it fights a case brought by Star Entertainment over allegedly defective combustible cladding at its Sydney casino, which cost $4.4 million to replace. 

The contingency fee rate sought by Shine Lawyers in its bid to vary a group costs order in a class action against EML Payments has been revealed as the percentage profit it initially proposed to a judge, who took an ax to it three years ago.

Animal drug company Zoetis has lost its bid for summary dismissal of claims that it infringed US-based animal genomics company Scidera's bovine gene patent, with a judge saying its novel arguments were not so clear-cut and needed to be worked out at trial.

The applicants in a case over strip searches conducted of female passengers on a Qatar Airways flight at Doha Airport want the airline to produce any communications with other planes, and to do so by month's end.