Meat processor JBS Australia has appointed new legal representation in a battle with the Australian Taxation Office over the scope of privilege attached to thousands of documents produced by its tax adviser, PricewaterhouseCoopers, after a judge raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest in PwC’s representation of its client.
The High Court will hand down its ruling Wednesday in a high-stakes case between ASIC and Westpac that is expected to clarify the line between personal and general financial advice.
Assurances that PwC can be a defendant in a privilege fight with the ATO while representing three other defendants in the proceedings and avoid a conflict of interest has failed to allay concerns raised by a Federal Court judge, who said the situation created “at least an appearance of tension”.
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has succeeded in striking out claims that it made misrepresentations to Rio Tinto when it appointed a partner nearing the mandatory retirement age to a five-year project with the mining giant.
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is seeking to strike out the misleading and deceptive conduct claims in a $4 million age discrimination lawsuit brought by a former partner, calling them “farcical” and “absurd”.
Maurice Blackburn is pushing back against an appeal by Treasury Wine Estates, which accuses the law firm and a barrister of breaching their obligations by using evidence discovered in a settled class action to launch a second case against the wine maker.
Treasury Wine Estates has challenged a ruling that Maurice Blackburn did not breach its obligations by using material from a now settled class action against it to draft new class action pleadings.
Maurice Blackburn did not breach its obligations by using material from a now settled class action against Treasury Wine Estates to draft new class action pleadings against the wine maker, a court has found.
Elderly victims of Ponzi schemer Bradley Sherwin have told the government’s class action inquiry of their “horrendous class action journey”, which led to a “pathetic outcome” in which the majority of a $12 million settlement with the Bank of Queensland went to the law firm and funder behind the case.
A claim by Treasury Wine Estates that Maurice Blackburn — but no other law firm — is prohibited from bringing a shareholder class action over disclosure breaches related to its US business had an “air of unreality” about it, a judge has said.