A defunct sand importer has told a court that it was “strung along” by the Port of Authority of NSW over an agreement to build a multi-user facility in Glebe Island, alleging the government-owned corporation is liable for $300 million in damages for unconscionable conduct.
A judge has held off on orders requiring Maurice Blackburn to turn over financial information to Sportsbet in a class action over unlawful in-play betting, saying the parties should first confer on the issue of security for costs.
The judge hearing the ACCC’s price-fixing case against Downer EDI’s Spotless and Ventia has proposed an initial hearing to determine if the companies are in competition, saying he won’t let the case become “totally unwieldy”.
Coal producer TerraCom has been joined to a lawsuit brought by Korean Midland Power against a unit testing lab ALS Limited over allegedly exaggerated coal testing results.
ASIC has asked a court to hit Westpac with a $30 million penalty for IT failures which caused financial hardship applications to be ignored, conduct a judge has described as “shocking” and “truly scandalous”.
In the ACCC’s price-fixing case, infrastructure services company Ventia has joined with Spotless in arguing the companies were not in competition, and says it was the Department of Defence that arranged for the providers to talk.
Resolving a split between courts, the High Court has confirmed that judges have power to make soft class closure orders, which require class action members to register before mediation to participate in any resulting settlement.
Downer EDI subsidiary Spotless has rejected allegations it engaged in price-fixing with Ventia on defence contracts, saying the facilities services companies were not in competition with each other.
AUSTRAC has sought to suppress parts of its case against the operator of online gambling sites Ladbrokes and Neds, arguing the information should not get into the hands of criminals.
A key issue in the ACCC’s price-fixing case against Downer EDI’s Spotless and Ventia is likely to focus on whether the facilities services companies were in competition, a court has heard.