Higgins appeals

Brittany Higgins lodges appeal against REYNOLDS -v- HIGGINS [2024] WASC 260 and REYNOLDS -v- HIGGINS [2025] WASC 345, Downes J hands down decision re patent which relates to a compression wave massage device for sexual stimulation of the clitoris.

September 19, 2025

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  • Elias v Smidt (No 3) [2025] NSWSC 1062 (17 September 2025)

    [78] Contrary to Mr Elias’ submissions, I think a costs assessor would apply a discount to Mr Jones’ rates. That is because I do not think a costs assessor would proceed on the basis that in this litigation, where as it happens there has been a series of mis-steps, it would be fair and reasonable to assess Mr Jones’ fees on the basis of a senior junior with a decade or more of experience, at the top of a relatively wide range. This is confirmed by what I have seen and heard of his submissions, which fall short of the standards I would expect of leading junior counsel with a decade or more of experience. This manifests itself in a range of ways, including the fact that there were three applications for default judgment, the fact that special costs orders were made along the way and the form and content of the written and oral submissions.
     

  • EIS Gmbh v LELO Oceania Pty Ltd (Liability Trial) [2025] FCA 1111

    [84] Nowhere in the agreement reached by the experts (including Mr Duff) was it stated that the PSA needed to have knowledge of and experience with the design or manufacture of clitoral pressure wave massage devices, or even sexual stimulation devices to be used on the clitoris per se (whether pressure wave or otherwise).

    [85] For these reasons, the field of knowledge to which the invention relates is the design and manufacture of sex toys or, to put it another way, the design and manufacture of devices for sexual pleasure. Those who work in this field would have a real interest in the subject matter of the Patent irrespective of whether they had any prior knowledge or experience of clitoral pressure wave massage devices.
     

  • Why a court's decision on annualised salaries has rewritten the rules for Australian employers - Law Society Journal
     

  • Mangini and Commissioner of Taxation (Practice and procedure) [2025] ARTA 1788 (13 September 2025)

    [31] At the hearing, Mr Mangini argued:… (c) the ATO does not exist, the Deputy Commissioner was not validly appointed, the term “taxpayer” and “income” is not properly defined, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is being indicted for war crimes. These matters go to the validity of the tax laws, the tax system and obligation to pay tax. He argued that in this context, the laws are invalid and the obligation to pay tax is voluntary. He is therefore not required to pay the GST as assessed (Ground Three).

     

  • Ekermawi v Commonwealth of Australia [2025] FCA 1141

    CATCHWORDS - HUMAN RIGHTS – racial discrimination – restriction on recording “Palestine” as country of birth in government records – no human right to have a particular place of birth recorded in official documents – applicant’s claim does not otherwise implicate any other right identifiable in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

     

  • Recusal, Impartiality, and Judicial Ideology at the ICJ - Called to the Bar: International Law over Drinks - Apple Podcasts

    In this episode of Called to the Bar: International Law Over Drinks, host Associate Professor Ntina Tzouvala (UNSW Sydney) is joined by Dr Juliette McIntyre (University of South Australia) and guest Dr Victor Kattan (University of Nottingham) to explore the fraught question of judicial impartiality and recusal at the International Court of Justice.
     

  • Trial and error [Capital Brief paywall]

    Queensland’s new AI guidelines hint courts may take a softer stance on chatbot use, though litigants risk costs if affidavits or citations go wrong.
     

  • Why supply crises are risky for Governors - Anne Twomey - YouTube

    This video explains why vice-regal officers have been so insistent in Australia about maintaining supply and not allowing governments to engage in unlawful spending or by-pass the upper House to achieve supply.
     

  • AI Tools Sometimes Better Than Human Lawyers – Study – Artificial Lawyer
     

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