Contracts

A judge has granted a 21-day stay of a lawsuit brought by Acciona, a Spanish infrastructure company seeking to use COVID-19 as a reason to back out of its construction contract for the $696 million Kwinana waste-to-energy plant, and has warned the company it faces a difficult task to persuade the court of its case.

Law firm HWL Ebsworth has dodged a $424,000 damages claim by a Brisbane property developer, despite a judge finding the law firm was negligent in failing to properly follow its client's instructions on a contract of sale for large block of units.

Spanish infrastructure company Acciona has filed a lawsuit to get out of an engineering and construction contract for the $696 million Kwinana waste-to-energy plant in Western Australia, citing disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A lawyer for Rentokil has told a court the pest control company is scratching its head over the defence by a former manager accused of a $3.2 million fraudulent invoice scheme, noting the employee admits invoices were paid into his personal account.

Construction equipment giant Caterpillar has resolved its dispute with a former employee accused of flagrantly copying "many thousands" of confidential files before taking a job with a competitor.

Law firm Sparke Helmore acted negligently by failing to adequately advise a New South Wales property developer about extension of time notices that were needed to prevent two lucrative contracts from falling through, a judge has found.

The Finance Sector Union has launched legal proceedings in the Fair Work Commission against the Commonwealth Bank for allegedly sacking an employee who breached a “draconian” salary secrecy clause.

Honda Motors has failed to strike out or permanently stay a proceeding seeking discovery for a possible lawsuit over the Japanese car maker's decision to abandon its Australian dealership model, with a judge rejecting Honda's argument that the preliminary discovery application didn't meet the requirements for service abroad.

Clyde & Co made an “inextricable” oversight in preparing an unpaid works claim, causing a Sydney-based sandstone excavator to lose millions of dollars, according to a cross claim in a case brought by the law firm for unpaid fees.

Automotive repair specialist AMA Group has been sued by two Gosford-based smash repair businesses claiming they were not paid enough when they were purchased for $5.5 million in October 2018.