Judges

AMP has retained Herbert Smith Freehills -- one of its go-to law firms -- to represent it in legal proceedings by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission seeking documents from Clayton Utz as part of an ongoing investigation of the wealth manager's fees-for-no-service conduct.

National car repair franchise Ultra Tune has been ordered to pay a $2.6 million penalty, with a judge finding the firm had not only breached the Franchising Code and the Australian Consumer Law by misleading a prospective franchisee but also misled the court in its defence of the case brought by the consumer watchdog.

An ecological landscaper suing the Retail Employees Superannuation Trust fund for an undeveloped climate change policy has lost an application for a maximum costs order in the public-interest case.

A judge that dismissed an investor class action against the Public Trustee of Queensland over the failure of investment firm Octaviar Group improperly intervened in the cross-examination of one of the class' witnesses, one of the judges that will hear an appeal of the dismissal was told.

Actor Craig McLachlan has won a bid to stay his defamation case against actress Christie Whelan Browne, Fairfax Media and the ABC in light of recent indecent assault charges brought against him, with a judge finding the cases deal with identical subject matter.

The Full Federal Court has expedited an appeal filed Christmas Eve by Sanofi-Aventis of a ruling that denied its bid to block Alphapharm from listing an insulin injector pen on the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme.

ASIC is seeking approval from the High Court to appeal a judgment that let a former director of Gold Coast finance company MFS Group partially off the hook for $147.5 million in misappropriated funds, saying the High Court needs to clarify the scope of the word "officer" under the Corporations Act.

The ACCC can continue its case against failed Aboriginal art wholesaler Birubi Art, which went into liquidation after the court found it violated the Australian Consumer Law by selling fake Aboriginal goods.

Spotless Services violated the Fair Work Act by failing to pay redundancy for workers employed at Perth International Airport, a court has found, in a ruling that clarifies when employers are on the hook for redundancy payments.

National Australia Bank has rejected a class action's claims that it pushed worthless credit card insurance onto its customers, saying it was up to the customers to determine the true value of the coverage.