Hall & Wilcox

A lease granted to developer Quarry Street over the site of the abandoned Paddington Bowling Club did not constitute use of the land under Aboriginal land rights legislation, a High Court majority has found.

A judge has refused to force the sale of a Footscray property used for logistics services, estimated to be worth $23 million, saying an agreement by the co-owners to sell it by a deadline could no longer be performed. 

Pitcher Partners has won its bid for a separate hearing on whether the liquidator of collapsed IT company Titan Interactive is entitled to any relief on its claims the accounting firm breached its duty of care in providing tax advice.

Hall & Wilcox has brought proceedings against accounting firm Pitcher Partners, alleging it breached its duty of care by providing negligent advice on late superannuation payments. 

Contesting $17.8 million in fees billed by law firm Hall & Wilcox, the liquidators of collapsed engineering firm Hastie Group have told a court there was no written costs agreement between the parties. 

A class action alleging a conspiracy against collapsed investment fund Blue Sky continues to be whittled down, with a court giving the firm's founder the green light to drop claims against a handful of defendants, including law firm Gadens and AFR publisher Nine.

The owners of land acquired to build the Mordialloc Freeway have lost a bid for $52.8 million in compensation, with an appeals court affirming that they are only entitled to $2.24 million because of prior compensation paid on the land.

Hastie's special purpose liquidators have won court approval to enter into a further funding agreement as it pursues cases against Hall & Wilcox, which previously represented the collapsed engineering firm.

The IP rights holder of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings franchises has appealed its loss in a trade mark battle with vegan burger chain Lord of the Fries.

Family-owned real estate group Coronis has successfully challenged the tax office on a $5 million alleged shortfall, with a judge finding service fees paid to two companies in the group were deductible.