A judge has awarded $43 million to National Australia Bank in its lawsuit against former directors of failed retailer Dick Smith, but threw out claims against company directors brought by HSBC and the retailer’s receivers.
A judge has urged parties in a class action against Westpac over superannuation fees to hold an in-person mediation, saying that success rates have “plummeted” during the COVID-19 pandemic as more settlement talks are held virtually.
Thousands of Indonesian seaweed farmers have won a class action against PTTEP Australasia over one of Australia’s largest oil spills, with a judge finding the oil exploration company breached its duty of care to the farmers and damaged their livelihoods.
In another victory for ASIC in a case stemming from the banking royal commission, a judge has ruled that TAL Life Limited breached the Insurance Contracts Act after denying coverage to a cancer patient and threatening to recover $24,000 it had already paid to her.
A judge has refused to summarily dismiss proceedings brought by the ACCC against office supply company Fuji Xerox over allegedly unfair contracts with small businesses.
A judge has sided with five investments banks and rejected a bid to amend a class action alleging a series of cartel agreements to rig foreign exchange rates, saying there were “substantial problems” with the proposed pleadings.
The judge overseeing a class action against Westpac over superannuation fees has criticised costly discovery processes that produce a “tsunami of material”, most of which is never used at trial.
Five investment banks facing a class action for their alleged rigging of foreign exchange rates have slammed the “unclear” and “incredibly vague” case, saying it contains “literally trillions” of possible variations of the cartel agreement allegedly entered into.
Westpac has denied claims in a shareholder class action filed in the wake of AUSTRAC proceedings alleging 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance laws, saying the information the class action says it should have disclosed to shareholders “did not exist”.
The Chief Justice of the Federal Court says a system is needed to ensure parties don’t interrupt one another during virtual hearings, and noted the increase in online hearings brought on by the coronavirus may also free judges up to hear cases outside their registries.