Naomi Sharp

A judge has deferred the question of what penalties Harvey Norman and Latitude Finance should face in a case by ASIC until their appeals are heard, noting the “regrettable” fragmentation of the case. 

Over objections from the ACCC, a judge has struck out the regulator’s entire case against Meta over scam cryptocurrency ads on Facebook after it clarified that each allegedly misleading ad should be a separate contravention.

A environmental group has lost its challenge to the extension of the Mount Pleasant open cut coal mine in NSW operated by MACH Energy, with a judge finding the planning commission considered greenhouse emissions and did not merely pay “lip service” to the issue.

The consumer regulator must identify the advertisements it relies on to prove its case against Meta over scam cryptocurrency ads on Facebook, with a judge saying the social media giant should know the case it has to meet.

A judge has handed Ultra Tune a $1.5 million fine for contempt, saying the car repair franchise failed to meet the requirements of a court-ordered compliance program, instituted after the company copped a $2 million fine for contravening its disclosure obligations to franchisees.

A judge has rejected Facebook owner Meta’s request to pause a case  by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over scam cryptocurrency ads until a private criminal action by mining magnate Andrew Forrest is decided.

A judge overseeing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s case alleging auto mechanic Ultra Tune failed to comply with court orders has labelled its managing director Sean Buckley as “one of the more dreadful witnesses” he had seen.

Collapsed vocational education provider Phoenix Institute and its marketing arm have been hit with a record $438 million penalty after a judge found they acted unconscionably and with “callous indifference” by enticing vulnerable consumers to enrol in unsuitable courses with promises of free laptops.

The former director of Select AFSL has appealed a judge’s decision to slap him with a $100,000 penalty and a disqualification order after finding he “turned a blind eye” to the life insurer’s unconscionable phone sales tactics.

Select AFSL, its related entities and its director have been slapped with $13.6 million in penalties after a judge found that the life insurer used unconscionable phone sales tactics to “wear down” often vulnerable consumers, including migrants and Indigenous communities.