Two class actions have failed to convince a judge that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s money laundering compliance failure which led to a $700 million penalty was “law breaking on a grand scale” that should have been disclosed to the market, the latest shareholder case to flop after being taken to trial.
Omni Bridgeway will book a smaller-than-expected loss from its investment in failed shareholder class actions against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia that it spent close to $10 million on, having curbed its exposure by selling a stake in the group proceedings.
Appealing her loss in a trade mark stoush with an Australian fashion designer, pop star Katy Perry has argued the woman “should have changed direction” with her ‘Katie Perry’ brand once the singer’s star began to rise.
Finish detergent maker Reckitt Benckiser has thrown the latest punch in a long-running grudge match against rival Proctor & Gamble, with RB challenging a ruling that it made misleading claims about its popular dishwashing product.
Sydney real estate group The Agency has lost an appeal in its trade mark case against a rival, with the Full Federal Court upholding a finding that the company would have an “unwarranted monopoly” if other businesses were barred from using the descriptive words in its name.
Awaiting judgment in Federal Court class actions by shareholders over its money laundering risk disclosures, the Commonwealth Bank will ask the court to reopen the case to consider the relevance of two recent decisions that found shareholders in other class actions had failed to prove loss.
Judges were not afraid to vent their spleen in 2023, but lawyers were not the only object of judicial scorn last year, as judges waded into public discourse and sounded off over issues including complex legislation, media reports, famous social media commentators, and the involvement of government departments in legal proceedings.
Vittoria’s Cantarella Bros has lodged an appeal in a long-running trade mark stoush with Italian rival Lavazza after a judge found the coffee manufacturer’s two registered ‘Oro’ marks should be cancelled because the word was previously used by another coffee supplier.
A government entity that subsidises fossil fuel projects is facing a novel lawsuit alleging it failed to disclose the full environmental and climate impacts of its activities.
Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble Australia made misleading statements that its Fairy ‘30 Minute Miracle’ dishwashing tablet was better at cleaning than Reckitt Benckiser’s Finish Platinum Plus, but both companies made false claims about their products, a judge has found.