The liquidators of failed Gold Coast investment group Octaviar have been given the thumbs up to reject over $900 million in proofs of debt from two of the firm’s subsidiaries after the Queensland Supreme Court ruled they had received competent legal advice on the matter and were justified in the rejections.
The special purpose liquidator appointed to four companies in the collapsed James Estate Wines group has been given the go-ahead by a judge to enter into a litigation funding arrangement with the conglomerate’s former director and pursue $57.1 million in potential claims against ANZ Banking Group.
Three syndicates of Lloyd’s London have failed in their bid to toss a case brought by National Australia Bank seeking £357 million ($655 million) in insurance claims relating to two consumer redress schemes in the UK.
A judge has overturned a win for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in a trade mark battle with NSW-based Community First Credit Union, finding the credit union had successfully argued to revoke the bank’s 20-year-old trade mark for ‘Community Bank’.
The prudential regulator is standing by its decision to bring proceedings against IOOF for alleged breaches of superannuation duties, despite criticism that such a “highly litigious regulatory environment” is placing immense pressure on financial services executives.
APRA’s purely documentary case against troubled fund manager IOOF has been dismissed by the Federal Court as “unpersuasive”, “fundamentally inadequate” and “tenuous in the extreme”, in another major blow to financial services regulators pursuing action in the wake of the banking royal commission.
A judge has permanently banned the director of financial services firm Gallop International from the industry and proposed a record $3 million fine after the corporate watchdog brought enforcement action alleging $40 million of investors’ money disappeared from Gallop’s bank account.
ACCC Chair Rod Sims reiterated concerns about the lack of competition in the retail banking sector on Wednesday, but shut down media reports that the competition regulator is pushing for a royal commission-scale inquiry into the big four banks.
Five IOOF executives will learn their fate this week when a judge rules on a disqualification bid by the prudential regulator, the first judgment to be delivered by a court in a case filed in the wake of last year’s scandal-airing banking royal commission.
With over 300 concurrent investigations on foot, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has leaned heavily into its ‘why not litigate’ approach and is bringing outside help on board, including from law firms.