Trials

Secret audio of a critical meeting in the lead-up to Moira Deeming’s expulsion from the Victorian Liberals kills party leader John Pesutto’s defamation defence, a court has heard.

Trial in a shareholder class action against Boral has been halted amid an appeal over a decision to allow questioning of former CEO Michael Kane about an email that mentioned a confidential EY report.

Boral’s former CEO Michael Kane can be questioned at trial over a reference he made in an email to findings by EY about the building material group’s poor performing US windows business, despite claims that the findings were privileged.

Whitehaven Coal has struck back at a class action led by the father of famed mining investor Nathan Tinkler, calling the claims that it failed to fulfil an implied term of a $150 million share subscription from 2012 “fanciful”.

Shareholders in Whitehaven Coal who helped inject $150 million of capital during a 2012 merger are “trapped” after the ASX-listed coal producer failed to abide by its side of the deal, a class action funded by mining investor Nathan Tinkler has alleged on the first day of trial.

A class action trial has heard that allegedly flammable Alucobond panels provided by 3A Composites and supplier Halifax Vogel are comparable to petrol and could present an “insurmountable challenge” to containing a fire.

The corporate regulator has won its case against Bit Trade, the Australian provider of the Kraken crypto exchange, after a judge rejected the company’s argument that its product was not a credit facility. 

Buoyed by the recent trial success of CBA and other companies facing shareholder ire, building materials giant Boral is taking its chances at a hearing in a class action alleging disclosure breaches linked to its US windows business.

Linda Reynolds has won her bid to subpoena HWL Ebsworth for correspondence with the Commonwealth prior to its $2.4 million settlement Brittany Higgins, as the senator contests Higgins’ characterisation of her decision to refer the settlement to the corruption watchdog as harassment.

Senator Linda Reynolds has admitted she gave incorrect evidence at Bruce Lehrmann’s criminal trial concerning the day he allegedly raped Brittany Higgins, saying it was her “best recollection” at the time.