Two shareholders of failed steel giant Arrium have told the High Court that granting their bid to grill former directors of the company would not be an abuse of process because it was in the public interest to “expose” the management of the defunct business.
Qantas has lost its second attempt to delay a hearing on further relief pending an appeal in its outsourcing spat with the Transport Workers Union, with a judge finding a stay would prejudice the union more than the airline.
Qantas has filed a bid to delay a hearing on penalty after a judge found the airline outsourced ground operations partly to prevent employees engaging in industrial action, but the TWU has said a stay would be “unfair” to 1,600 former ground staff.
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has failed to persuade a court to hold an expanded separate trial on the alleged wrongdoing of the mining magnate in a spat over the Hope Downs iron ore mine, with a judge finding the proposal could extend the already ten-year legal battle.
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority will soon make its case directly to an appeals court that it can rely on defences limiting its liability to farmers in a class action alleging negligent oversight of the river system, a question that could have implications for other climate change cases against government agencies.
Leading Australian oil and gas producer Santos is accused of misleading the market by “greenwashing” its environmental credentials in a landmark shareholder-led lawsuit filed in the Federal Court.
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has avoided a discovery order that would cost an estimated $3 million to comply with, with a judge instead ordering that limited discovery be given to two Rinehart children in an ongoing family dispute over titles for the Hope Down iron ore mine.
Sydney retail personality Con Constantine has lost an appeal seeking to bolster a $4.25 million judgment in his favour over the $81.8 million Parklea Markets sale in 2016.
The judge overseeing class actions against Commonwealth Bank over its money laundering compliance failures has threatened to force the parties to go to trial by a certain date if they can’t agree to “sensible” time limits to ready the case for hearing, noting he would reach retirement age in 2024.
Crown Resorts chair Helen Coonan and the CEO of Crown Melbourne will step down at the end of this month, the latest heads to roll as the casino operator attempts to persuade Royal Commissioner Ray Finkelstein QC that it should keep its Victorian licence.