NSW Supreme Court's Equity Division is waging war on bad paperwork. Justice Bennett opened a recent judgment with a spray about non-compliant hole punching, dodgy tab dividers and sloppy pagination, before getting around to the actual legal issues. It follows Justice Hammerschlag nearly throwing out the Dexus trial over the same crimes: AFR

⚖️ Disputes: Want to force your counterparty to arbitrate? Make sure your clause actually lets you do that. In Dnata Airport Services v Polar Air Cargo, Dnata tried to stay contractual cross-claims brought against it by Polar Air and compel arbitrationafter Polar Air sued Dnata. Dnata argued Article 9 of their IATA ground handling agreement let either party elect arbitration unilaterally. The NSW Court of Appeal disagreed unanimously: "the parties may elect" meant both parties had to elect arbitration. The third sentence directing litigation if the parties "fail to agree to an arbitration process" sealed the Court's finding.

⚖️ Employment: Think your overseas employees are beyond Fair Work Act reach? Think again. In Sanderson v Brightest Australia, a New Zealand-based employee selling a subscription app to Kiwi customers successfully lodged an unfair dismissal claim against his Australian employer because his contract was formed in Victoria, where the acceptance email was received. That made him an "Australian-based employee" under the FW Act, despite never working here. To exclude an offshore employee from FW Act coverage, both limbs of the exception must be satisfied: the employee must be engaged outside Australia and engaged to perform duties outside Australia: Hall & Wilcox

⚖️ Regulatory: Two Western Australian produce companies have copped record penalties. Fruitico, which processes around 80% of WA's table grapes, paid $99k for allegedly trading with growers without a Horticulture Code-compliant produce agreement in place. Wholesaler Fresh Express paid another $99k for failing to provide growers with required gross sale price information. The ACCC used the occasion to push for a stronger Horticulture Code, flagging that the current version hasn't been updated since 2017: ACCC

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US inflation hit 4.2% in May, a three-year high, with energy prices driving over 60% of the increase since the Iran war shut the Strait of Hormuz. Petrol's up 40% year-on-year, airfares 27%, and three-quarters of Americans say wages aren't keeping up. Trump's response? "I love the inflation": CBS, The Guardian

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is doing something rare for a tech CEO: actively lobbying for the government to have the power to block his own products. He says AI should undergo mandatory third-party testing across categories like bioweapons and cybersecurity, and if a model fails, the government should block deployment. He's comparing AI to cars, planes and drugs: powerful, but lethal if mismanaged: Bloomberg

💊 Sigma Healthcare (aka Chemist Warehouse's parent) has lawyered up with three firms as it weighs a tilt at 177-year-old British pharmacy chain Boots, valued at ~$14bn. Sigma is relying heavily on Freshfields, HSF Kramer is running point locally, and G+T's John Schembri is across the debt: AFR

🏥 MinterEllison advised buyer consortium Stonepeak and Abu Dhabi's Axight Capital, with Allens acting for seller Bain Capital on its exit from Estia Health, Australia's second-largest aged care operator: Point Blank