LAW – VICTORIA – CASES

Wilson, Bauer quibble over costs

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Original article by Adam Cooper
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 16 : 9-Mar-18

The Supreme Court of Victoria has been told that a cost consultant has estimated that Bauer Media should be liable for about $A1.12m of the legal costs incurred by Hollywood star Rebel Wilson in a lengthy defamation lawsuit. Wilson’s legal costs arising from the case were around $A1.4m in total, and she is seeking to recover $A1.3m in costs from Bauer, in addition to the $A4.56m in damages it was ordered to pay after losing the defamation case.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

Contempt case threatens super union

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 28-Feb-18

Victorian International Container Terminals’ contempt of court lawsuit against the Maritime Union of Australia could prevent its proposed merger with the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union. The Fair Work Commission, which is shortly slated to issue a ruling on the merger, has received a submission which argues that contempt charge constitutes criminal proceedings under the Fair Work Act. The Registered Organisations Act in turn states that a union merger cannot by approved if there is outstanding criminal proceedings. The unions contend that the contempt charge is civil rather than criminal.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Contempt case threatens super union

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 28-Feb-18

Victorian International Container Terminals’ contempt of court lawsuit against the Maritime Union of Australia could prevent its proposed merger with the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union. The Fair Work Commission, which is shortly slated to issue a ruling on the merger, has received a submission which argues that contempt charge constitutes criminal proceedings under the Fair Work Act. The Registered Organisations Act in turn states that a union merger cannot by approved if there is outstanding criminal proceedings. The unions contend that the contempt charge is civil rather than criminal.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Union leader ordered to halt illegal Port of Melbourne picket

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Dec-17

Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari and union officials will be barred from blockading Victorian International Container Terminal’s site at Webb Dock. VICT CEO Andres Dommestrup has welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to grant injunctions against Hilakari, the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and the Maritime Union of Australia. VICT had claimed that Hilakari had been the leader of picketers who have blocked access to the company’s Webb Dock facility for several weeks.

CORPORATES
VICTORIAN TRADES HALL COUNCIL, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB

Conspiracy claim over docks dispute

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Original article by Nick Toscano
The Age – Page: 3 : 12-Dec-17

Victorian International Container Terminal (VICT) has told the Supreme Court that an ongoing blockade of its Webb Dock terminal is doing "immeasurable" harm to its business. VICT has alleged that Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari and other unionists are involved in a conspiracy against the company, and is seeking an ongoing injunction against Hilakari and the Maritime Union of Australia. Justice Michael McDonald said the ongoing blockade is an example of "plainly unlawful conduct".

CORPORATES
VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, VICTORIAN TRADES HALL COUNCIL, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Kroger pledges to fund Libs’ Cormack suit

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Original article by John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 6 : 13-Nov-17

The Victorian Liberal Party and the Cormack Foundation are at odds over who owns the Foundation’s $A70 million worth of assets. Liberal Party president Michael Kroger has threatened to take the Foundation to court if it does not agree to have their dispute arbitrated. Kroger has stated that he will pay up to $A1 million of any legal costs that the Liberal Party might incur if the matter goes to court and the party loses the case.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, CORMACK FOUNDATION PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIAN TRADES HALL COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

CFMEU’s Setka to fight charge

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Original article by Pia Akerman
The Australian – Page: 3 : 15-Aug-17

The Supreme Court of Victoria has ruled that criminal charges of blackmail laid against two Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union officials should proceed. The CFMEU had sought to have the charges deemed invalid on the grounds that the alleged blackmail occurred during an industrial dispute. The charges against CFMEU Victorian secretary John Setka and his deputy Shaun Reardon relate to allegations of blackmail against two Boral executives in 2013. The CFMEU is expected to appeal against the court’s ruling.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, GROCON PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

CFMEU faces bankruptcy from lawsuit

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Jul-17

The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union and several of its senior officials have been served with a writ in the Victorian Supreme Court. The writ relates to a failed apartment project on the site of Pentridge prison in Melbourne’s north, with the writ alleging that the CFMEU used illegal coercion and threats that caused delays that led to the project’s failure. The value of the writ is potentially as high as $A150 million, a sum that could bankrupt the union if the case went against it.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, WEST HOMES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, GROCON PTY LTD, PENTRIDGE VILLAGE PTY LTD

Rebel told me lies, journalist tells court

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Original article by Tessa Akerman
The Australian – Page: 3 : 6-Jun-17

The Victorian Supreme Court is continuing to hear a defamation case brought by actress Rebel Wilson against Bauer Media. Wilson contends that her career in Hollywood was tarnished as a result of articles about her in Bauer’s magazines in mid-2015 that alleged she had lied about her age and other parts of her life. Caroline Overington, who wrote a magazine story about Wilson that was published in January 2015, told the court that she based her story on what Wilson had told her, and that she was "shocked" to subsequently learn that much of it was untrue.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

CFA launched bid to shut down trial

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 13-Oct-16

Victoria’s Country Fire Authority wants to halt a case in the Supreme Court. The case was launched by the Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria, which argued that the CFA’s proposed enterprise agreement with the United Firefighters Union had a number of deficiencies. The CFA says the passage of the Federal Government’s CFA legislation makes the case irrelevant.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY, UNITED FIREFIGHTERS’ UNION OF AUSTRALIA, VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADES VICTORIA, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA