Agriculture

A Gadens-led class action against former Quintis director Frank Wilson has settled, but a second class action filed by a rival firm has flagged a potential claim on the settlement funds over a cause of action said to have been “picked up parasitically”. 

Plaintiff firm Maurice Blackburn will foot the bill for the unsuccessful class action against Monsanto over weed killer Roundup, but the company’s reluctance to split the trial in two has come back to bite it.

ASIC has brought civil penalty proceedings against Chinese government-owned agri-business COFCO, alleging it manipulated the market for Eastern Australian wheat futures market contracts in 2022. 

The ACCC has raised concerns that Singaporean agricultural giant Olam Agri Holding’s bid to acquire ASX-traded cotton ginner Namoi Cotton could reduce competition and stick cotton farmers with higher prices, one month after flagging similar concerns with Louis Dreyfus’ competing takeover proposal. 

Unanimously dismissing an appeal by thoroughbred breeding and horseracing giant Godolphin, the High Court has ruled on the proper construction of a tax exemption for rural land in NSW.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has expressed concerns that France-based Louis Dreyfus’ proposed acquisition of ASX-traded cotton gin operator Namoi Cotton could substantially lessen competition and lead to higher prices for ginning services.

A US-based animal genomics company has taken Australia’s leading livestock and dairy groups to court, alleging they have infringed its patent for a system for conducting genetic testing on beef and dairy cattle by doing genetic testing without a licence.

The Fair Work Commission has found a farm worker was unfairly terminated for coming to work after a big night out, during which he consumed up to 15 drinks.

A hearing in a class action to determine the extent of lost sales suffered by cattle exporters following a ban on live exports has been set down for April next year, making the case the oldest unresolved class action on the Federal Court docket.

A judge has approved a settlement in a shareholder class action against livestock exporter Wellard that grants a 34 per cent cut for group members, saying that investors had agreed to the lawyers and funder receiving the “lion’s share”.