HCA hands down 4 judgments

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Daily wrap  

• High Court hands down 4 judgments incl one revoking special leave
   

  • Potts v National Australia Bank Limited. Summary found here.

    • Catchwords - Special leave to appeal – Where questions of legal principle not in issue at appeal hearing – Whether single ground of appeal concerning factual issues met criteria for special leave to appeal – Whether special leave to appeal should be revoked.
       

  • Huxley v The Queen. Summary found here.

    • Catchwords - Criminal practice – Trial – Directions to jury – Where appellant tried with two coaccused – Where appellant charged with murder, one co-accused charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and other co-accused charged with accessory after fact to murder or manslaughter – Where evidence from witness incriminated one co-accused but had potential to exculpate appellant – Where trial judge gave direction that witness' evidence should not be used unless jury satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that witness' evidence was truthful, reliable and accurate – Where direction expressed as "consistent with the directions" to be given in relation to case against one co-accused – Where appellant did not seek redirection – Whether direction would have misled jury in relation to defence case for appellant – Whether misleading in context of summing-up as a whole – Whether trial miscarried – Whether direction constituted error of law.
       

  • Karpik v Carnival plc. Summary found here.

    • Catchwords - Trade practices – Consumer protection – Extraterritorial application of s 23 of Australian Consumer Law ("ACL") – Where company carrying on business in Australia selling and marketing cruises – Where contract of passage made outside Australia – Where contract was contract of adhesion incorporating set terms and conditions – Where terms and conditions included exclusive jurisdiction clause and class action waiver clause – Whether s 5(1)(g) of Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) extended application of s 23 of ACL to contract – Whether any additional territorial connection required – Whether class action waiver clause constituted unfair term under s 23 of ACL and void.
       

  • Real Estate Tool Box Pty Ltd v Campaigntrack Pty Ltd. Summary found here.

    • Catchword - Copyright – Infringement – Authorisation of infringement – Where s 36(1) of Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) relevantly provides copyright is infringed by person who, not being owner of copyright, and without licence of owner of copyright, "authorizes the doing in Australia" of any act comprised in copyright – Where first respondent owner of copyright in cloud-based real estate marketing system "DreamDesk" – Where fifth appellant ("Mr Stoner") director of second appellant ("Biggin & Scott") – Where Mr Stoner instructed second respondent ("Mr Semmens") to build web to print delivery system software that does not breach other companies' copyright – Where Mr Semmens and others developed "Real Estate Tool Box" software ("Toolbox") – Where Mr Stoner and sixth appellant ("Ms Bartels") established first appellant ("Real Estate Tool Box Pty Ltd") – Where Mr Semmens reproduced "DreamDesk Source Code Works", "DreamDesk Database and Table Works" and "DreamDesk PDF Works" in creating Toolbox – Where use of Toolbox involved reproduction of DreamDesk Source Code Works – Whether Biggin & Scott, Mr Stoner, Ms Bartels and Real Estate Tool Box Pty Ltd ("Biggin & Scott parties") infringed copyright in DreamDesk Source Code Works by authorising infringing acts of Mr Semmens and others in developing Toolbox and of users in using Toolbox – Whether Biggin & Scott parties infringed copyright in DreamDesk Database and Table Works by authorising infringing acts of Mr Semmens and of users in using Toolbox.
       

• Allegations of assault, emotional abuse against Supreme Court judge detailed
   

• ABC agreed to pay Bruce Lehrmann $150,000 to settle defamation claim, court documents reveal | Australian Capital Territory (ACT) | The Guardian

   

  • News Corp agreed to pay Bruce Lehrmann $295,000 to settle defamation claim, court documents reveal | Australian Capital Territory (ACT) | The Guardian

     

  • The settlement deeds can be found on the online court file here - Lehrmann v Network Ten and Ors: Online File
     

• Former marine accused of training Chinese pilots loses bid to stop forfeiture of multi-million-dollar NSW home
   

• Preventative detention legislation has passed. What now?
   

• Fourth non-citizen arrested after High Court decision released indefinitely-detained people
   

• Mark Dreyfus approved human rights commission’s intervention in indefinite detention case | Australian immigration and asylum | The Guardian
   

• Labor passes preventive detention laws as judges gain power to cancel citizenship of serious offenders | Australian immigration and asylum | The Guardian
   

• Guy Sebastian's former manager to face retrial after embezzlement convictions quashed

  • A copy of the judgment and judgment summary can be found here - Day v Rex (No 2) - NSW Caselaw
     

• NSW man’s attempt to sue over ‘stalking’ Facebook post dismissed as bid to stay in contact with ex | New South Wales | The Guardian
   

• Chopper crash widow sues Matt Wright-owned helicopter company, safety regulator
   

• Police officer charged with manslaughter over taser death ordered to hand over passport
   

• Woman sues health service after being sexually assaulted while unconscious during surgery
   

• Man who killed Victorian postmaster in ‘despicable’ unprovoked assault jailed for minimum five years | Victoria | The Guardian
   

Editor’s picks

• IAG ASX: IAG’s top lawyer, Peter Horton, leaves after ‘conduct breach’ [Financial Review paywall]
   

• Liberty, punishment and the power to detain: the fallout from NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs — Australian Public Law
   

• 2024 Going to the Bar - Why, When and How Tickets, Online via Zoom | TryBooking Australia
   

• Moshinsky J’s reasons now published in - PepsiCo, Inc v Commissioner of Taxation [2023] FCA 1490
   

• Livestream from 10:15am AEDT - ACT 1 of 2023 - Applications by ANZ and Suncorp - YouTube
   

• Tool giant fined a record $15 million – Proctor
   

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