The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched enforcement action against online tradie marketplace Service Seeking for allowing businesses to write their own reviews.
A judge facing calls to recuse himself from a dispute between law firm Norton Rose Fulbright and a dismissed employment partner has avoided hearing the disqualification application, with the case being allocated to another judge.
Law firm Johnson Winter & Slattery has filed its defence against a cross claim by accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers in a shareholder class action over the collapse of Vocation, pointing to an email that shows the training company was advised of its disclosure obligations to the market.
Digital ad startup Unlockd was forced to drop its competition lawsuit against Google in October after entering administration, but the issue may yet be revived by the regulator, which has revealed a misuse of market power probe is underway, and it has the contours of the startup’s case.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has lost a bid to have the Federal Court decide a threshold legal question in its dodgy home loan case against Westpac, which is going to trial after a $35 million settlement got the thumbs down.
Labour hire company Workpac has been fined just $1,650 after a groundbreaking Full Federal Court decision that a casual employee could be eligible for annual leave, with a judge saying the low penalty reflected the lack of clarity in the law.
Maurice Blackburn stands to walk away with $5.8 million for its work on a consumer class action against Cash Converters that resulted in a $16.4 million settlement.
Defending against a fourth trade mark infringement lawsuit by the UK’s Scotch Whisky Association, Australian liquor retailer D’Aquino Bros has told a court all of its Scotch Whisky was distilled in Scotland, and it has the paperwork to prove it.
IOOF’s chairman and CEO are stepping down to defend against a Federal Court action by Australia’s financial regulator seeking to have them, along with three other executives of the embattled wealth manager, disqualified from acting as superannuation trustees.
The competition watchdog is taking NSW Ports to court alleging a 50-year agreement with the state, signed when Port Botany and Port Kembla were privatised five years ago, was anti-competitive.