Appeals

Qantas workers on stand-down orders during the coronavirus pandemic have lost an appeal to overturn a ruling that they are not entitled to access paid sick or compassionate leave.

Treasury Wine Estates has accused plaintiffs law firm Maurice Blackburn and barrister Guy Donnellan of "taking advantage" of their privileged position by using evidence discovered in a settled class action to file a second case against the wine maker.

The High Court has granted special leave to labour hire company WorkPac to challenge a Full Court judgment that granted entitlements to casual workers with regular shifts.

The director of a Melbourne law firm has been reprimanded and fined $10,000 for sending two letters to opposing counsel accusing him of being dishonest, following a protracted nine-year legal battle.

The Full Federal Court has upheld a ruling that the CFMEU was "knowingly concerned" in the refusal of union officers to produce entry permits at a Queensland building site, with the appeals court saying it was"difficult" to understand how the union was not an accessory to the contraventions of its employees.

Former solicitor general Justin Gleeson SC has been appointed contradictor in GetSwift's battle to have the judge overseeing a shareholder class action disqualify himself from the proceedings after overseeing the trial in ASIC's case against the logistics provider.

An appeals court has overturned a $435,000 win for solicitor Zagi Kozarov, a former prosecutor in the Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions specialist sexual offences unit, in her case blaming her working conditions for her severe post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Telstra has lost an appeal in a case brought by Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane city councils over a planned upgrade of its payphone network across Australia, with an appeals court pointing to an "apparent paradox" in the telco's claim it did not need planning permits to install its next generation digital phone booths.

Shareholders who lost a Federal Court trial in their class action against engineering company Worley are challenging the decision to dismiss the case.

An appeals court has shot down oil and gas giant Santos' bid for expanded discovery against engineering company Fluor, finding that the application was "akin to a fishing expedition" that was based on "a shaky assumption" by lawyers from Corrs Chambers Westgarth.