James Arnott

Sydney lawyer and wealth guru Dominique Grubisa is challenging a finding in an ACCC case that her seminars made misleading statements and has sought to pause the court action until her appeal is heard, a bid a judge has warned won’t be “favourably received” by him.

A former director of Noumi has won his challenge to the food manufacturer’s claim for legal professional privilege over a PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by its lawyers at Ashurst, with a judge finding the company waived privilege by disclosing it to Australian Securities and Investments Commission. 

In a win for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, a court has found Dominique Grubisa’s DG Institute made misleading statements to students who paid up to $9,000 to enrol in her property investment and wealth management programs.

A judge has ordered soft class closure ahead of mediation in a class action against five major banks over alleged foreign exchange rate-rigging, saying the applicant’s subjective view on what will assist mediation should not be imposed on the banks.

A judge has questioned the applicant’s opposition to soft class closure in a class action accusing five major banks of rate-rigging, a measure the banks say could save “tens of millions” in legal expenses. 

Noumi has argued a PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by its lawyers at Ashurst is protected by legal professional privilege, after the food manufacturer admitted to overstating the value of its inventory and failing to properly disclose its financial position.

A judge’s decision to chop $810,000 from the funder’s cut of a settled class action against Westpac sounds a warning to class action litigators that when it comes to determining the size of a commission, case budgets matter.

Former Dick Smith CFO Michael Potts is on the hook for paying $57 million in damages to National Australia Bank after the High Court on Wednesday revoked its grant of special leave, finding he did not raise a legal question of public importance.

Food manufacturer Noumi is trying to reach agreement with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on a penalty to propose to the court for violating its continuous disclosure obligations by overstating the value of inventory.

A $29.95 million settlement resolving a superannuation class action against two Westpac units has won court approval. The judge overseeing the case has also indicated he will OK the litigation funder’s commission but only some of its after-the-event insurance premium.