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Oil company PTTEP has objected to Indonesian seaweed farmers using the word “oil” in their evidence in the Montarra oil spill class action, arguing they are not qualified to identify oil.
ACCC approves ‘green’ plastic certification trade mark over vagueness concerns
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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has approved an application by plastics manufacturer OxoPak for a certification trade mark for certain biodegradable plastics.
KPMG settles lawsuits by Equititrust liquidators accusing accounting firm of negligence
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The liquidators of Gold Coast fund manager Equititrust are seeking court approval of a confidential settlement of two proceedings brought against KPMG for allegedly failing to properly audit the firm prior to its collapse.
ISPs ordered to block sites that ‘rip’ audio from YouTube music videos
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The court has ordered Australia’s biggest internet service providers to block seven websites from “ripping” audio files from music videos on YouTube, in what the judge described as “industrial scale copyright infringement”.
Judge questions Piper Alderman’s $3.5M legal bill in KPMG class action
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A judge has questioned whether he should approve the $3 million legal bill in the settled Discovery Metals shareholder class action against KPMG, amid concerns the plaintiff’s lawyers, Piper Alderman, breached legal profession regulations by failing to update their estimated costs.
Mills Oakley nabs K&L Gates partner for launch of Melbourne IP group
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Australian law firm Mills Oakley has established an IP practice in its Melbourne office, snatching a senior lawyer from rival K&L Gates, which is now set to lose five IP specialists in the space of almost two months.
Appeals court in BHP class action battle questions superiority of no win, no fee model
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Maurice Blackburn’s funding model rejected by a judge overseeing a beauty parade of class actions against BHP appeared structured to incentivise the firm to push up its legal fees, an appeals court said Monday on the first day of a high stakes hearing challenging a decision to shut down two of three competing cases against the mining giant.
La Trobe University drops disciplinary proceedings against law professor
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La Trobe University has reached a settlement with the head of its law school, Dr Patrick Keyzer, to resolve legal action alleging it breached its workplace obligations when it suspended him over bullying complaints. The university dropped its disciplinary proceedings against Keyzer, with no adverse findings being made.
NAB takes captive insurer, Lloyd’s units to court over coverage dispute
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The National Australia Bank has filed a lawsuit against its Singapore-based captive insurance unit and three syndicates of global insurance giant Lloyd’s seeking coverage for two consumer redress schemes related to the bank’s sale of interest rate hedging products and fixed rate tailored business loans.
Insufficient evidence Piper Alderman discriminated against female partner, judge says
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A judge has found a senior female partner at Piper Alderman has not provided sufficient evidence that the firm moved to oust her from its ranks because she is a woman, in a ruling dismissing her bid for an order halting the firm from moving forward with a meeting on the proposed expulsion.