The long-running court battle between the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABCC) and Canberra's construction union over a blockade at a dance school in Dickson appears to have ended.
The Federal Court has thrown out an appeal by the ABCC, challenging a ruling last year that found the union had done nothing wrong during a three-day blockade at the worksite.
The blockade in question occurred in June 2014, stopping work at the Kim Harvey School of Dance in Canberra's north.
The initial case targeted eight union officials including the former CFMEU secretary Dean Hall, and current secretary Jason O'Mara.
The group was accused of breaching the Fair Work Act.
At the heart of the case was whether the blockade was over safety concerns, which would be allowed, or was really targeted at an enterprise bargaining negotiation, which would be illegal.
One of the people charged was Fihi Kivalu, a former union official, who was dramatically arrested outside the trade union royal commission, and later convicted of blackmail.
Kivalu gave evidence against the union, suggesting the blockade and the enterprise agreement had been linked in discussions in the union office.
But the judge hearing the case rejected his evidence.
Kivalu admitted under questioning in court that he had struck a deal with prosecutors that they would not seek a jail term if he cooperated in the case against the union.
The appeal targeted just four officials and the union itself.
The Court of Appeal has upheld the first ruling and dismissed the ABCC's case.
