Industries

In a case believed to be the first of its kind, the liquidators of boiler room trader Forex Capital Trading have sued ASIC, seeking to claw back over $20 million in fines and costs they says constituted unfair preference payments and should be distributed among the company’s out-of-pocket clients. 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has raised concerns about the owner of realestate.com.au acquiring a national forms platform used by real estate agents, saying it could “significantly harm competitors”. 

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has taken two units of Paladin Group and one of its directors to court for allegedly raising more than $100 million from 258 investors without a financial services licence.

Maddocks has recruited a special counsel from Ashurst to head up its trade marks and brand protection practice. 

A judge has found that Lisa Wilkinson acted reasonably in ditching Network Ten’s legal team in a defamation case brought by Bruce Lehrmann, noting the “distrust” between the presenter and her former employer as well as other matters, including a retainer Ten’s solicitors had with The Australian newspaper. 

The High Court has granted special to leave to a class action against Ford over allegedly PowerShift transmissions, agreeing to hear the case alongside two appeals in a class action against Toyota that deal with how reduction in value damages should be calculated under the Australian Consumer Law.

Mazda has been ordered to pay $11.5 million after a court found the Japanese car maker engaged in “appalling” customer service and misled nine purchasers of defective vehicles about their entitlement to a refund or replacement under the Australian Consumer Law.

Noumi has argued a PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by its lawyers at Ashurst is protected by legal professional privilege, after the food manufacturer admitted to overstating the value of its inventory and failing to properly disclose its financial position.

Adani subsidiary Carmichael Rail has lost its High Court challenge seeking to have a dispute over damaged steel rails heard in Australian Federal Court rather than by an arbitrator in London.

A senior lawyer at Network Ten has told the court she was not embarrassed by legal advice given to Lisa Wilkinson in relation to her controversial Logies speech and denied she was “utterly ill-equipped” to play a role in Wilkinson’s defence, amid a stoush between the network and the presenter over her legal bill in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case.