HWL Ebsworth Lawyers

The Queensland Commissioner of State Revenue has lost an appeal against the Montessori Children’s Foundation after it refused the organisation's bid to be registered as a charity to avoid property taxes.

The corporate regulator should not be immune from the risk of special costs for actions doomed to fail, says a judge who flayed ASIC last month for bringing a case against TerraCom directors it should have known was a dud.

The Port Authority of NSW has won its claim for public interest immunity over six cabinet documents in a suit by a defunct sand importer over a lease agreement for a mulit-user facility at Glebe Island, with a judge finding they had little forensic value.

The CEO of embattled Melbourne builder Vansan Construction is fighting a $2 million default judgment for SK Developments, saying he was given no opportunity to defend himself.

Law firm HWL Ebsworth, which was found liable for negligence over advice on a Parramatta land development, has lost its opposition to a referee process for calculating damages.

A court has ruled that media reports accusing well-known orthopaedic surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis of unethical and profit-driven promotion of an experimental procedure were substantially true, tossing his defamation suit against Fairfax and its owner Nine.  

Former director of fintech iSignthis, John Karantzis, plans to appeal a ruling that slapped him with a $1 million penalty and disqualification orders for allegedly providing misleading information to shareholders. 

A judge has handed iSignthis and its director $11 million in penalties for failing to give adequate disclosures and giving misleading information to the ASX, saying reliance on legal advice was no reason to reduce the fine.

Mercedes-Benz dealers are pressing on with their $650 million battle over the luxury car maker's move to a fixed-priced agency model, taking their case to the High Court.

A fight over legal professional privilege is looming in a case against HWL Ebsworth and a former partner by investors in projects by property developer Belmore 88.