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The High Court has agreed to take up an appeal by mining giant BHP Group Limited in its battle with the Australian Tax Office over an $82M tax bill.
Common fund orders on shaky ground as High Court grants special leave to Westpac, BMW
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The writing may be on the wall for common fund orders in class actions that put all unregistered group members on the hook for a litigation funder’s commission, after the High Court agreed Wednesday to take up landmark challenges by Westpac and BMW, experts say.
Class actions still loom as ASIC drops probe into Blue Sky
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The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has dropped its probe into Blue Sky over possible violations of its continuous disclosure obligations, but the fund manager still faces three active shareholder class action investigations.
ACCC loses court challenge to Pacific National, Aurizon terminal deal
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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has suffered a major defeat in its challenge to Pacific National’s proposed $205 million acquisition of competitor Aurizon’s Queensland freight terminal, with a judge saying he was appeased by a last-minute promise from Pacific that it would not block third parties from accessing the terminal.
Australian lawyers more at risk of bullying, sexual harassment, report finds
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Sexual harassment is “alarmingly commonplace” in Australian law firms, with almost half of all women in the legal profession experiencing harassment at least once, a survey of lawyers in 135 countries has found.
‘Loose with the truth’ broker wins High Court challenge to ASIC ban
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The High Court has upheld an appeal by a mortgage broker with a history of run-ins with the law, finding that the Administrative Appeals Tribunal could not take spent convictions into account when reviewing ASIC ban orders.
Lachlan Murdoch’s Nova wins fight with Huawei over Aussie trade mark
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IP Australia has rejected an application by Huawei Technologies to register the trade mark Nova after a challenge by radio giant Nova Entertainment, with a delegate finding the Chinese telecommunications company had failed to prove its intention to use the mark.
ICOS drops second patent dispute over erectile dysfunction drug
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US biotechnology company ICOS has settled a dispute with Australian-based Arrow Pharma over the patents for erectile dysfunction drug Cialis, less than 12 months after a court upheld the validity of the patents in a separate case.
High Court to hear challenge to common fund orders in class actions
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The High Court has granted applications by Westpac and BMW to weigh in on the validity of common fund orders made in class actions, a decision that could have major ramifications for the way representative proceedings are funded.
Irrigators bring $830M class action against Murray-Darling Basin Authority
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Irrigators in Australia’s South East have launched a class action against the Murray-Darling Basin Authority claiming its mismanagement of the river system caused up to $830 million in losses.