CASE(S) OF THE WEEK
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EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF MALAYSIA BHD v. HISHAM SOBRI & KADIR
[2018] 6 CLJ 82
HIGH COURT MALAYA, KUALA LUMPUR
FAIZAH JAMALUDIN JC
[CIVIL SUIT NO: 22NCVC-121-03-2017]
19 FEBRUARY 2018
PARTNERSHIP: Liabilities of partners – New partners – Firm of advocates and solicitors – Negligence and breach of contract – Company’s cause of action stemmed from firm’s act of issuing drawdown advice resulting in losses – Whether new partners were partners of firm at material time – Whether offence committed before new partners admitted as partners – Partnership Act 1961, s. 19(1) – Whether court has discretion to evaluate facts to determine liability of partner – Rules of Court 2012, O. 77 r. 4
CIVIL PROCEDURE: Striking out – Res judicata – Applicability – Whether instant suit one of several suits involving same subject matter – Whether cause of action obviously unsustainable – Whether action ought to be struck out – Rules of Court 2012, O. 18 r. 19(1)(a), (b) (d)
LIMITATION: Action – Accrual of – Starting point from which cause of action would run – Applying tests in Kamariyah Hamdan and Abdul Aziz Hassan – Whether more than six years had elapsed – Whether claim statute barred – Limitation Act 1953, s. 6(1)
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CASE(S) HIGHLIGHT
Uber rape case: Cab driver Shiv Kumar Yadav found guilty, faces life imprisonment
More than 10 months after a 25-year-old woman was raped and sexually assaulted inside a radio taxi in the national capital, a fast-track court in Delhi Tuesday convicted cab driver Shiv Kumar Yadav, holding him guilty on charges of rape and endangering the life of the victim. Yadav, a former driver of Uber taxi service, faces a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
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Judgment
Sentencing Decision
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ARTICLE HIGHLIGHT
YouTube faces paying billions to music stars after copyright vote
EUROPEIntellectual property
Video giant YouTube loses crucial vote over new copyright laws
YouTube stars from Taylor Swift to Ed Sheeran, Beyonce and Jay-Z could be in line for big paydays after the video giant lost a crucial vote in Brussels over new copyright laws that will force it to pay billions of dollars in fees for users watching music videos.
For years the music industry has argued that YouTube exploits the lack of legal protection around music videos being viewed on its service to pay minimal amounts to artists and labels when they are viewed.
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Employee overheard manager say getting rid of her was a ‘work in progress’, tribunal told
UKEmployment
Pharmacy dispenser was constructively dismissed
A pharmacy dispenser who overhead her manager say getting rid of her was a “work in progress” was constructively dismissed, a tribunal has ruled.
Mel Warrington worked for Lloyd’s Pharmacy as a dispenser at Cambridge’s Addenbrookes Hospital from May 2004 until November 2016. The tribunal heard that in August and September 2016, her line manager spoke to her about her performance but, other than this, she had no formal disciplinary record at that point.
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In Test Case for Gig Economy, UK Court Backs Contractor
UKEmployment
London plumber classed as self-employed was in fact a worker
A London plumber who claimed he was unfairly dismissed after years of working as a contractor won a court ruling Wednesday giving him employment rights, in a closely watched case testing labor rules in the so-called gig economy.
Britain's Supreme Court ruled that Gary Smith, who worked for Pimlico Plumbers full-time for six years, was entitled to rights such as sick pay and minimum wage. Smith sought to reduce his hours following a heart attack, while the company argued he wasn't entitled to such protection because he was a self-employed contractor.
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Pizza Hut franchisee penalised $216,700 for sham contracting
AUSTRALIAEmployment
Pizza Hut driver was employee rather than independent contractor
A Pizza Hut franchisee has been fined $216,700 in the Federal Circuit Court after exploiting a delivery driver under a sham contract and using false records to try to cover it up.
Judge Michael Jarrett imposed the penalties after Dong Zhao and his Gold Coast based company admitted breaching sham contracting laws when they misrepresented to a delivery driver that he was an independent contractor, not an employee.
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Louboutin wins EU court battle over distinctive red soles
EUROPEIntellectual property
French designer wins fight over trademark protection for signature red soles
Christian Louboutin’s battle to protect the distinctive red soles on the shoes he designs got a boost on Tuesday when the European Union’s top court said their red color was separate from the shape of the soles, which is usually not protected under EU trademark law. The judges at the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) did not follow the advice of the advocate general who said in February that the red color could not be considered as being separate from the shape of the sole.
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High Court allows Milorad Trkulja to sue Google for defamation over images linked to crime bosses
AUSTRALIA Tort
Shooting victim gets court nod to sue search engine Google
A man who claims to be defamed by Google has now been given the green light to sue the search engine by the High Court.
Milorad Trkulja was shot in the back by an unknown gunman in Melbourne in 2004, at the time of a series of underworld killings.
He wants to sue Google for defamation after discovering that searches for his name brought up images of mob figures due to the shooting coinciding with gangland activity in the city.
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Indian court decides meaning of the Lol emoji
INDIAThe legal meaning of the famous LOL emoji assessed in the Madras High Court in India, as court decides an employee's criminal complaint.
A petition to quash this complaint was heard by Justice SS Sundar at the Madurai Bench. The complainant was another BSNL employee, who had used a BSNL WhatsApp group to post a video of customers speaking of their grievances about BSNL network coverage. Taking exception to the post, the 46 accused employees retaliated by flooding the group with the LOL emoji. The complainant then filed a criminal complaint, listing out offences under the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 2002 and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015. The Court, found the complaint filed to be devoid of merit and therefore quashed, but the judge suggested an apology was in order.
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Hairdresser wins unfair dismissal claim after Facebook Messenger conversation with boss “spiralled out of control”
AUSTRALIAEmployment
Hairdresser was unfairly dismissed
In a decision before the Fair Work Commission last week, a hairdresser was held to have been unfairly dismissed after an exchange with her boss over Facebook Messenger where he aggressively turned on her.
The employee (JLM) and her boss (CT) regularly conversed outside of hours on Facebook messenger. On 6 December 2017, however, their exchange “spiralled out of control”.
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J&J defends itself in trial over baby powder asbestos claims
USHealthcare
Lawyers for Johnson & Johnson reject claims widely-used baby powder contains asbestos
A trial for a lawsuit alleging that Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder was responsible for the death of a woman due to her exposure to cancer-causing asbestos began in South Carolina on Monday in the latest case against the healthcare conglomerate and a supplier over their talc-based products. J&J said that its widely-used baby powder never contained asbestos, a known carcinogen linked to mesothelioma.
The case also names as a defendant a local unit of Rite Aid, one of the largest U.S. drugstore chains, which allegedly sold the baby powder used by the woman.
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