Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram have lost a bid to shut down a lawsuit brought by an Australian social media startup, with a judge finding the digital giants relinquished their right to move the dispute to California.
A group representing plaintiff law firm has lampooned recommendations from the government’s latest inquiry into class actions, including that the country’s continuous disclosure laws be permanently relaxed, saying they give corporations the green light to fleece consumers and mislead investors.
Two law firms that have filed competing class action against AMP over allegedly excessive insurance premiums have changed tack and agreed to consolidate the proceedings.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has rejected a behavioural undertaking from Google intended to assuage the regulator’s competition concerns about its planned $3 billion acquisition of fitness device company Fitbit, saying it would be challenging to monitor and enforce.
Shareholders of collapsed vocational training company Vocation are poised to get about half of a $50 million settlement reached last month in a complex, long-running class action alleging the company failed to make adequate disclosures about its contracts with the Victorian Department of Education.
Fairfax Media has issued an apology and settled a lawsuit by former Toll Group chairman Ray Horsburgh over an Australian Financial Review article that allegedly defamed him by claiming he made a racist remark at a board meeting.
Rival bookmakers Sportsbet and Sportsbetting.com.au have reached a settlement in their trade mark and consumer law dispute, agreeing to drop their claims against each other for unspecified terms.
The ACCC has raised preliminary competition concerns about Woolworths proposed 65 per cent acquisition of food wholesale distributor PFD Food Services, saying the deal would give Woolworths more power in its dealings with food manufacturers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken franchise giant Retail Food Group to court for allegedly misleading purchasers of loss-making franchises about the profitability or viability of its stores.
The Federal Court judge who is now overseeing a high stakes criminal cartel case against several investment banks and individuals over a $2.5 billion ANZ share placement has ordered that an indictment be filed by February 1, telling the parties “we have to get this case moving” and that he hoped to move the matter to trial “before we all retire”.