Behind Epic’s win against tech giants

The WA litigator behind Reynolds’ victory

Court preserves privilege despite disclosure

The Federal Court has ruled Mastercard can maintain privilege over a document mistakenly given to the ACCC in 2020 during its market power probe. The file was wrongly marked non-privileged by a junior Baker McKenzie lawyer while reviewing 100k documents under a tight compulsory notice deadline. Justice Halley said the disclosure, and even Mastercard’s four-year delay in raising it, were “regrettable but explicable” oversights. He stressed that the interests of justice demand privilege be preserved where errors arise from pressured review exercises. The decision is a reminder that privilege won’t necessarily be lost through inadvertent disclosure if courts are satisfied the mistake was genuine: Lawyerly

TerraCom has been hit with a $7.5m penalty for whistleblower victimisation—ASIC’s first enforcement outcome under the regime. The case centred on 2020 ASX announcements and an open letter that implied whistleblower allegations were made for personal gain, despite parts being upheld by an independent PwC review. TerraCom admitted the statements caused hurt, humiliation and reputational damage. ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said companies risk discouraging future whistleblowers if they attack individuals rather than address issues raised. TerraCom must also cover $1m in ASIC’s legal costs: ASIC

The Vic Supreme Court has rejected claims that Uber conspired to sink rival GoCatch, despite finding the rideshare giant intended to harm the defunct taxi app and secretly accessed its confidential driver list. Interestingly, Justice Nichols held there was no conspiracy because Uber Inc. alone made the call to launch UberX illegally, meaning no unlawful “agreement” with its subsidiaries. Still, the Court slammed Uber Australia’s conduct—emails showed execs wanted to “crush GoCatch” in Sydney and labelled the driver list hack “clever” but not fit for daylight. While TaxiApps dropped its damages claim, the judgment is a rare judicial rebuke of Uber’s early tactics, even as the company welcomed the win: Lawyerly

Earlier in August, Epic Games won its Federal Court stoush with Apple and Google, with Justice Beach finding both tech giants misused market power through restrictive app store rules. The five-year fight featured top silks, powerhouse lawyers, and now could reshape the app economy. It was one of Australia’s biggest competition law trials. Check out our deep dive here.

Linda Reynolds has won $315k in damages against Brittany Higgins, after a WA Supreme Court found Higgins’ truth defences failed over two social media posts. The Court ruled Higgins had implied Reynolds pressured her not to report her rape allegation and waged a campaign of harassment. Reynolds failed on claims of conspiracy, but Higgins also breached a $2.3m non-disparagement deal. Legal costs still to come: The Guardian

Speaking on Reynolds… Martin Bennett, the loud-tied litigator behind Linda Reynolds’ win over Brittany Higgins, is no stranger to controversy — or the courtroom. Feared for his ferocious cross-exams, late-night prep and client loyalty, Bennett’s been a fixture in WA’s biggest cases, from Gina Rinehart feuds to a $2.6m win for Lloyd Rayney: AFR

Gilbert + Tobin has scrapped its 2022 succession plan after Tim Gordon, tipped to take the reins, jumped ship to Corrs. Gordon’s executive partner role won’t be replaced, with Danny Gilbert resuming day-to-day leadership. It’s business as usual (for now), but the firm’s long-term leadership transition is back to square one: AFR

Sydney Water warns data centres could guzzle a quarter of the city’s annual drinking supply by 2035, up from 3.5bn litres today. The AI boom is fuelling the surge, with 89 Sydney sites all drawing from potable water. Some operators like CDC already run closed-loop systems, but others rely on drinking water for cooling. Authorities are now pushing wastewater and recycled solutions to stop servers draining Sydney’s taps: ABC News

The RBA board cut the cash rate to 3.6% in August and signalled more to come, but how fast depends on the data. Minutes show Michele Bullock and co want to preserve jobs while dragging inflation back to target, leaving the door open to either a steady grind or faster cuts if the labour market weakens. Markets tip rates at 3.1% by Feb 2026: AFR

Malcolm Turnbull says Australia will never get Virginia-class subs under AUKUS, blasting the deal as giving Canberra “no leverage” in Washington. He points out the US Navy is already 17–20 boats short, shipyards are producing half what’s needed, and US law requires the president to certify their navy doesn’t need the sub before one goes offshore. His verdict? America will always back self-interest: The Australia Institute

Woolworths & WiseTech: wiped $11bn off the ASX in a day, as Woolies sank 14.7% on a 17% profit fall and dividend cut, while WiseTech slumped 11.9% after missing forecasts. It caps a brutal reporting season, with CSL and James Hardie also hammered. Fund managers say AI-powered trading algorithms are exaggerating share price moves, as blue-chip volatility hits all-time highs: AFR

AirTrunk: has locked in a $16bn sustainable financing, the largest in APAC, with Gilbert + Tobin advising lenders. The deal covers SYD1 and SYD2 loans plus a revolving warehouse, giving the data centre giant max flexibility as it scales. Banking partner Stuart Cormack led the matter, calling it a landmark for responsible digital infrastructure: Gilbert + Tobin

Perpetual: is still haggling with Oaktree over the sale of its wealth arm, with a deal now unlikely to be unveiled at Thursday’s results. Oaktree’s structured bid mixes upfront cash with deferred payments. The sale, expected at $500m–$1bn, would help cut Perpetual’s $740m debt, as PE circles the sector on ageing-population tailwinds: The Australian

Rio Tinto is shaking things up, with new boss Simon Trott axing the minerals arm and folding the business into three divisions: iron ore, aluminium and lithium, and copper. Australia CEO Kellie Parker and minerals chief Sinead Kaufman are out, while non-core assets like borates and titanium dioxide are on the block. Analysts expect a sell-off to follow as profits slide: AFR

MinRes’ Onslow haul road has claimed its seventh truck crash since opening last year, this time on a newly upgraded stretch. The $230m asphalt fix was meant to make the road “bulletproof”, but with drivers still rolling 330-tonne rigs at 40km/h, WorkSafe is now investigating: AFR

Grant Thornton UK has cut nearly 100 secretarial roles, outsourcing most to its sister firm in India just months after selling a majority stake to Cinven. Partners say they’re embarrassed, but pressure to trim costs and boost productivity is mounting. With India, the biggest arm of the network, its role is only growing: Financial Times

Carlyle is buying intelliflo from Invesco for up to $200m, with $135m due at close and $65m in earn-outs. The UK-based SaaS platform supports 2,600 advisory firms managing £450bn in assets, and Carlyle’s eyeing faster growth in Australia. Intelliflo’s US ops will split off as RedBlack under separate management: Finextra

Fast-food billionaire Jack Cowin is back running Domino’s Pizza Enterprises as interim chair, after shares crashed 91% from their 2021 peak and the group swung to a $3.7m loss. At 83, Cowin is betting his near-25% stake and $3.2bn fortune on a turnaround. He’s slashing costs, shutting stores and hunting for a new CEO to steady Domino’s’ wobbly global empire: Bloomberg

Aware Super is taking its $200bn fund offshore, with plans for 50–60% of its $12bn property portfolio to be overseas within five years. It’s already sunk $2bn into Europe, snapping up serviced apartments and London office towers, and has Asia and the US in its sights. The pitch? Australia’s just too small for its growth ambitions: AFR

ByteDance is valuing itself at US$330bn in a fresh staff buyback, up from US$315bn six months ago. Q2 revenue surged 25% to US$48bn, cementing it as the world’s top-grossing social media firm, ahead of Meta. But while TikTok’s US ops remain unprofitable, pressure to divest its US arm by Sept 17 still looms: Reuters

Apple has locked in 9 Sept for its iPhone 17 launch, with the invite hinting at a super-thin iPhone 17 Air and new colours (orange, yellow, blue). Rumours also point to vapor chamber cooling. What’s not coming? No Macs or AirPods Max refresh. All eyes on whether Apple delivers on the hype: Tech Radar