The judge overseeing the first ever bid for a group costs order in a class action that will give the plaintiff’s law firm a percentage cut of the proceeds has urged the firm to rethink characterising its own solicitor as an expert.
A junior solicitor’s meeting notes during an ASIC investigation of ANZ did not belong to her client despite the lawyer billing for her attendance at the meeting, law firm HWL Ebsworth has argued before a skeptical judge.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is resisting a novel proposal by ASIC to use its CommBank app to notify 6.3 million customers of a $7 million fine against it for overcharging interest, saying the move would pose a “significant risk” to the public.
A judge has urged parties in a class action against Westpac over superannuation fees to hold an in-person mediation, saying that success rates have “plummeted” during the COVID-19 pandemic as more settlement talks are held virtually.
Westpac has agreed to pay up to $30 million to settle a long-running class action over allegedly excessive insurance premiums which included a trip to the High Court that resulted in common fund orders being struck down in the early stages of class actions.
Deloitte has failed to set aside a request for documents recording talks with partners about retirement after they turned 62, in a closely watched age discrimination lawsuit challenging the accounting firm’s mandatory retirement policy.
The trustee of Mayfair Group’s collapsed IPO Wealth Fund has denied claims in a class action that it misled investors who lost $86 million when the fund was wound up, and says it is fully indemnified for the class action’s claims under an agreement with the fund.
Westpac will recoup the majority of proceeds from the $29.6 million sale of collapsed fintech Sargon Group, with a judge calling the company’s liquidators “anxious sellers” who sold at speed and well below market value.
An ASIC review has found that 17 per cent of clients of IOOF unit RI Advice may have been exposed to harm, one month after a judge found that one of its former advisors violated the law by steering investors towards risky investments.
Two months after the remains of accused fraudster Melissa Caddick were discovered on a NSW beach, ASIC is seeking to appoint final receivers to realise her assets, although the family and friends who invested tens of millions with the Sydney businesswoman are not expected to fully recoup their investments.