A judge overseeing a class action against Bayer-owned Monsanto over its allegedly carcinogenic weedkiller, Roundup, has declined to rule on the admissibility of expert evidence in a hearing ahead of trial next year, despite concerns about the independence of the expert witnesses for the class.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has told a judge there’s no chance it will admit to ASIC’s allegations that it accepted conflicted remuneration through the sale of its Essential Super product, likening the matter to ASIC’s failed ‘Wagyu and shiraz’ case against Westpac.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has lost its appeal of a ruling that revoked its 22-year-old ‘community bank’ trade mark, with the Full Federal Court agreeing that the phrase has an ordinary signification and cannot be trade marked for the bank’s services.
A $150 million class action has been launched against South Australian power company SA Power Networks over the December 2019 Cudlee Creek bushfire, which destroyed over 96 homes in the state and led to one death.
The company behind the Peloton interactive exercise bike, which has amassed a cult following in the US during the coronavirus pandemic, has taken legal action against a California-based fitness company seeking the removal of its ‘spinning’ trade mark ahead of Peloton’s planned launch in Australia.
A fight is brewing over allegedly deficient discovery provided by pop star Katy Perry in her trade mark dispute with Sydney fashion designer Katie Perry, with a judge hearing that text messages from the singer’s phone that may be relevant to the case have not been handed over.
MinterEllison has appointed Sydney-based partner Virginia Briggs as acting chief executive officer after the board asked CEO Annette Kimmitt to leave over her controversial staff email about the firm’s work for Attorney-General Christian Porter.
Fortnite developer Epic Games has filed a lawsuit against Google for alleged anti-competitive conduct and misuse of market power, after launching a similar claim against Apple in November.
In another victory for ASIC in a case stemming from the banking royal commission, a judge has ruled that TAL Life Limited breached the Insurance Contracts Act after denying coverage to a cancer patient and threatening to recover $24,000 it had already paid to her.
Lawyers and experts welcomed the High Court’s ruling Wednesday, which approved a class action beauty parade approach to dealing with competing proceedings and provided guidance as to how judges might otherwise manage the problem of duplicative cases. Here, Lawyerly outlines the important things to take away from the majority’s judgment.
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