The novel coronavirus pandemic has forced Australian courtrooms into the virtual world, with many barristers and solicitors litigating via phone or video for the first time. Here, some of Australia’s top barristers offer tips on how to bring your A game into the virtual realm.
Two Italian cheese consortiums have failed in separate bids to trade mark their respective cheeses, Gorgonzola and Asiago, with delegates ruling the trade marks were not capable of distinguishing each consortium’s products from other cheeses.
Chevron has won a $3 million judgment against the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union, after a court found the Maritime Union of Australia, now part of the CFMEU, engaged in unlawful industrial action in opposing the energy giant’s use of foreign crews.
The applicant in a $47.6 million class action against a unit of car leasing company McMillan Shakespeare has been denied access to insurance documents sought to determine the value of the case, with a judge saying access would “distort the playing field”.
Kraft has lost an appeal in its high-stakes legal battle against Bega over the right to use its distinctive peanut butter trade dress in Australia.
The plaintiffs in a class action against Dr Eddy Dona, the director of defunct chain the Cosmetic Institute, over allegedly botched breast implants have lost their bid for a ‘soft’ class closure order, with a judge saying the class already had sufficient information to engage in settlement negotiations.
Arguing that the court should not be “baulking at problems that have the potential to occur”, counsel for a class action against Ford is pushing back against a bid by the car maker to put the brakes on an upcoming virtual trial the company says will be too difficult and costly.
A judge has refused to delay a civil penalty hearing brought by ASIC against GetSwift, scheduled to begin in June, after the logistics company argued that the virtual hearing necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic would be prejudicial and the proceedings should be adjourned.
Sandalwood producer Quintis has agreed to settle two class actions by shareholders, but the claims against company founder Frank Wilson and auditor EY will proceed for now.
WA-based land developer Tina Bazzo and her partner Allen Caratti have failed in their challenge to a ruling that liquidators’ examinations should not be held in private despite a large scale ongoing criminal investigation of the pair.
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