mitry lawyers news feed

It gets tricker when the goods are directly exported from a foreign country into Australia. This is the case with Temu, a China-based company that sells hundreds of thousands of products to Aussies every month.

Some Australian businesses feel powerless to stop goods copying their own products being sold at a fraction of the price.

Richard Mitry spoke to Nine's A Current Affair about this phenomenon last night.

Richard Mitry appeared this morning on The Today Show where he discussed with Karl the latest developments in the Lehrmann defamation trial. This included drawing a distinction between these defamation proceedings, which are considering whether or not the allegations made in the publications the subject of those proceedings are true, and criminal proceedings which require a higher standard of proof. Richard briefly discussed with Karl that if Lehrmann lost these proceedings, the consequences to him would be a costs order - as opposed to a potential prison sentence if he were found guilty in criminal proceedings (which were aborted) about the same factual matters.

5 years ago, Mitry Lawyers filed a claim in the Supreme Court of New South Wales on behalf of business owners from Circular Quay to Randwick who were affected by the construction of the Sydney Light Rail project.

Yesterday, after a long and difficult journey, Justice Cavanagh found in favour of two of the lead applicants.In summary, the Court found that the interference with the use and enjoyment of their land by those applicants, Hunt Leather Pty Ltd and Ancio Investments Pty Ltd was substantial and unreasonable. 

In his judgment, Justice Cavanagh explored the design, planning and execution of the Sydney Light Rail project and through very complex analysis concluded that the Government had committed a private nuisance. 

This finding was so far in relation to two lead applicants, and it seems likely that an independent referee will be appointed to consider the remaining class members’ claims. This will also include an analysis of each successful class member’s damages claim in determining the quantum of damages to be awarded. 

We are very pleased to be able to make this announcement, and hope that it will bring reprieve to so many who have waited for so long.

A special thank you to Angela Vithoulkas for her tireless determination in not only making this claim happen, but keeping the flame alight through the journey.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-19/nsw-government-liable-light-rail-businesses/102618646

The Federal Court of Australia has ruled that a company associated with US musical superstar Katy Perry infringed the ‘Katie Perry’ trademark owned by an Australian designer.

The infringement related to the sale of clothing by the US company in Australia (and relating to an Aussie tour by Katy Perry).

Richard Mitry appeared on Nine’s A Current Affair discussing the case:

Have you ever paid upfront for a holiday booking online, only to discover afterwards that you have been ripped off? The ACCC has commenced proceedings against Airbnb in the Federal Court of Australia for allegedly misleading consumers about the prices of accommodation between January 2018 and August 2021. Prices were displayed with a dollar sign with consumers believing the prices were in AUD, when in fact they were in USD, resulting in consumers paying higher booking costs than expected. ACCC Chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, indicated that 2,000 customers had submitted complaints to Airbnb, with many more likely to have been affected. She stated that, ‘Aribnb's misleading conduct meant that consumers were deprived of the opportunity to make an informed choice about whether, and at what price, to book their holiday accommodation.’ If you are a legal nerd like us and want to read more about the details of the claim, check out the Media Release published on the ACCC website: https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/airbnb-allegedly-misled-australians-about-accommodation-prices 

A recent Federal Court decision has overruled the former Coalition government’s attempt to impose a regulatory burden on litigation funders by defining them as managed investments schemes. The definition meant that litigation funders would need to comply with onerous and costly requirements under the Corporations Act 2000 as part of a larger crackdown on class actions.

It is no secret that class actions can be notoriously expensive and so the role of litigation funders is invaluable in providing Australians with the opportunity to pursue justice against large corporations and governments. The new definition of litigation funders prompted concerns that funding would become limited and that class actions would be severely inhibited as a result.

Justice Lincoln Crowley has become Australia’s first Indigenous Supreme Court judge, after being sworn in on 13 June 2022. Justice Crowley described the appointment as "a momentous and historic occasion for the First Nations people of this state and indeed this country".  He also underlined the importance of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession: "The work of this court and the administration of justice are enhanced and advanced by having judges who are representative of the diverse nature of our community."

Read more here:

Richard Mitry recently joined TODAY to discuss the implications of posting defamatory comments on social media. In the case discussed, a Queensland court ordered two parents to pay $6,000 to a teacher whom they were ruled to have defamed on social media. This suggests caution should be exercised when one posts online. Even three words posted to Twitter could be defamatory and attract an award of damages, as revealed by the Federal Court case of Hockey v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited [2015] FCA 652.  As Richard explained, aside from damages, defamatory comments could, if they are intimidatory, be criminal. The segment can be viewed here:

https://twitter.com/TheTodayShow/status/1535770264956542976?cxt=HHwWgIC9tem6k9AqAAAA

Richard Mitry appeared on Sky News last week discussing the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard litigation in Fairfax, Virginia.

He identified that they each have claims against each other, Depp seeking USD50 million in damages, and Heard seeking USD100M in damages. The case is likely to turn on whether the abuse allegations levelled against each party are believed.

This is a link to the story:

A historic milestone for the United States as the Senate has confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Since the founding of the Supreme Court in 1789, all but three of the 115 people to serve have been white. Ms Jackson will be the sixth woman justice ever and be serving with three other women. This is a steppingstone towards racial and gender diversity in the highest court in the federal judiciary and is just the beginning.

In the High Court of Australia, we have seen the advancement in gender diversity with three women Justices serving with four men Justices. Continued progress can be made as women only make up 39 per cent of federal and state court judges even though most lawyers are women. As the Australian Law Reform Commission noted, if there is increased diversity in the appointment of judges, the extent of bias may lessen. With such a historic event finally taking place in the US, Australia could strive to show its cultural diversity in the highest court in our judicial system by having the first person of colour serve on the High Court.

The Sydney Light Rail Class Action that Mitry Lawyers commenced on 28 August 2018 has now entered mediation and is likely to culminate in a settlement with Transport for NSW. Mitry Lawyers commenced the class action in order to seek damages for economic loss as well as for psychiatric suffering of business proprietors, landlords, and residents due to private and public nuisance caused by TFNSW’s light rail construction. As Rick Mitry notes in a recent Daily Telegraph article, ““A large number of business owners required psychological and psychiatric assistance and there have been suicides”. That article, which discusses the class action and the mediation process, is available here:

Mitry Lawyers have been instructed to advise on and commence a class action in East Gippsland. The class action will be instituted against Kalbar Operations Pty Ltd who we allege has engaged in intimidatory tactics against locals in an effort to obtain local government approval for a mine. Those tactics are namely the imposition of pressure on locals in order to have them sell their homes and businesses so the mine can get approved. Information pertaining to the class action, and Kalbar’s alleged conduct, was published in the following Herald Sun article: