Privacy & Cybersecurity
Australian Clinical Labs hit with $5.8M penalty over data breach
In the first-ever civil penalty proceedings for breaches of the Privacy Act, pathology services provider Australian Clinical Labs has been ordered to pay $5.8 million over a 2022 data breach that compromised the sensitive personal information of 223,000 customers of its Medlab business.
Employment
Funder admits ‘thrusting young bucks’ remark, denies discrimination claim
Litigation funder Woodsford has struck back at a discrimination suit by a former female director, admitting its CEO described her male colleague as a "thrusting young buck" but denying the phrase was gendered.
Class Actions
Western Sydney University facing class action over unaccredited degree
Western Sydney University is facing a class action alleging it misled students into studying a health engineering degree that was unaccredited, on the heels of similar claims being leveled at the University of Newcastle.
Employment
Wiggles resolves former CEO’s adverse action suit after mediation
Children's entertainment group The Wiggles has reached a settlement resolving a case by its former CEO, who claimed he was axed after complaints about co-founder and Blue Wiggle Anthony Field.
Intellectual Property
Abbey appeals failure in bid to invalidate patent for antiparasitic drug
Abbey Animal Health has appealed its loss in a suit seeking to invalidate rival Virbac's patent for an antiparasitic drug.
Insurance
Resilium’s disclosure of authorised rep’s client data not a breach: court
A former authorised representative of Resilium Insurance Broking has failed to persuade an appeals court that the intermediary network breached a contract by providing its client data to a new representative.
Business of Law
Thomson Geer scoops up Baker McKenzie banking partner, special counsel
Thompson Geer has nabbed a partner and a special counsel from Baker McKenzie to grow its Melbourne-based banking and finance team.
Business of Law
Defamation lawyer who defeated Roberts-Smith case among 23 new silks in NSW
Twenty-three barristers in NSW have joined the silk ranks, including a leading defamation lawyer who was on the Fairfax legal team that defeated accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith's defamation suit.
Class Actions
CBA unit to pay $119.5M to settle consumer class action
Commonwealth Bank's New Zealand unit, ASB Bank, has agreed to pay $119.35 million to settle a class action alleging it failed to repay fees and interest wrongly charged to 150,000 customers who took out home or personal loans.
Intellectual Property
‘Argumentative and amorphous’: Startup attacks Fortescue’s call for seized docs in trade secrets row
Green iron startup Element Zero is challenging a bid by Fortescue for access to nine million seized documents in their trade secrets spat, saying its rival has not met the test for proving inadequate discovery of material.
