In the Federal Court of Australia, a case management hearing is a meeting of the parties and the Court to identify issues at the earliest possible stage (Case Management Hearing).[1] They are the essential element of, and main procedure used in achieving, case management.[2] In Queensland Courts, they are referred to as case management conferences.[3] Case Management Hearings may be referred to by different terms in each State. This article discusses Case Management Hearings in the Federal Court. [Read more…]
Litigation & Disputes
The tort of injurious falsehood
15 February 2021 by
Injurious falsehood is a tort which arises when a person makes false representations about the goods and services of a person or company. The representations can be either written or spoken, and must encourage others not to deal with the person or business, in turn resulting in damage. Notably, injurious falsehood offers a remedy when a cause of action for defamation is not available under the Defamation Act 2005 (Cth)(Act). [Read more…]
Review of QBCC decisions – part 3
1 February 2021 by
Under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Act) the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) is empowered to make a variety of decisions such as but not limited to: [Read more…]
What is the springboard doctrine?
27 January 2021 by
The ‘springboard’ doctrine refers to the benefit that is derived because of misuse of confidential information by a defendant that enables them to ‘springboard’ a new product or service to market more rapidly than if they had used their own mind. A breach can be a contractual or equitable in nature and can also involve other causes of action such as breaches of director’s duties. [Read more…]
Review of QBCC decisions – part 2
25 January 2021 by
Under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Act) the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) is empowered to make a variety of decisions such as but not limited to: [Read more…]
Review of QBCC decisions – part 1
19 January 2021 by
Under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Act) the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) is empowered to make a variety of decisions including, but not limited to: [Read more…]
Warning – Facebook trolls ordered to pay $150k damages
24 December 2020 by
In the recent unreported case of Moy v Isaac & Smith, featured in an article published by the Courier Mail on 15 November 2020, two online trolls were ordered to pay $150,000 to a wedding planner after creating a number of defamatory Facebook posts about her business. [Read more…]
Directions to rectify defective domestic building work – part 3
3 December 2020 by
Under the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Act) the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) is empowered to issue to a builder a notice to rectify defective domestic building work. [Read more…]
What is a registered design?
27 November 2020 by
The registration of designs in Australia are a form of intellectual property protection associated with the visual appearance of an items with commercial or industrial significance. Rights in designs are obtained by registration under the Designs Act 2003 (Cth) (Act). Once registered the owner has exclusive rights to use the design, licence its use to others or sell it. [Read more…]
The tort of passing off
27 November 2020 by
The tort of “passing off” occurs where one trader (Defendant) has wrongly represented that its goods or services are related to those of another (Plaintiff) by imitating the latter’s “get-up”, or look and feel of their product or service.[1] A passing off action is designed to provide a remedy when this situation results in damage to the Plaintiff’s business reputation. It is usually pleaded as an alternative cause of action to misleading and deceptive conduct pursuant to the Australian Consumer Law, contained inside schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). [Read more…]
