Activist short seller Bonitas Research must pay Rural Funds Management almost $900,000 after the US-based Bonitas was found to have engaged in misleading or decpetive conduct in issuing a report describing the agricultural fund manager’s equity as “ultimately worthless”.
A judge has ordered that Joseph ‘Diamond Joe’ Gutnik’s Merlin Diamonds be wound up after the mining company’s provisional liquidators uncovered “serious contraventions” and a “serious failure of governance”.
The competition watchdog has signed off on the $16 billion acquisition of Carlton & United Breweries by Asahi after the Japanese beer giant offered to shed key beer and cider brands to seal the deal.
Barristers for the ACCC and online retailer Kogan have been asked to robe up at home as the previously in-person trial shifts to videochat in response to the COVID-19 health crisis.
The Chief Justice of the Federal Court says a system is needed to ensure parties don’t interrupt one another during virtual hearings, and noted the increase in online hearings brought on by the coronavirus may also free judges up to hear cases outside their registries.
A judge has decided not to hold a virtual trial in a long-running dispute between Guy Sebastian and his now self-represented former manager Titus Day over allegedly unpaid entitlements, due to difficulties in judging witness credibility and because Day might have a challenging time litigating online.
An appeals court has found that parties forced to conduct hearings via telephone or video conference in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic are not disadvantaged by the new arrangements, refusing to delay the appeal of a $2.5 billion contractual dispute concerning the Ichthys gas project in the Northern Territory until the parties can appear in person before the court.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has found Bunnings’ $30 million takeover of Adelaide Tools and Oaklands Mower Centre would not substantially lessen competition, but warned it would closely scrutinise future moves that would further cement the hardware giant’s dominant position.
Tasmanian state-owned ports company TasPorts has admitted to charging additional fees to the owner of a local port, but has denied the ACCC’s allegations that these actions constituted a misuse of market power designed to stymie competition.
The makers or popular opioid drugs like OxyContin and Fentanyl may face a class action in Australia by consumers who allege they suffered financial loss from the addictive drugs.