We Buy Houses’ director Rick Otton has withdrawn his appeal of a ruling that slugged him with a $6 million fine for misleading property investors, the highest ever penalty imposed on an individual for breaches of the Australian Consumer Law.
The Australia Competition and Consumer Commission is seeking a $35 million penalty against Empower Institute after the court found the vocational trainer engaged in unconscionable conduct by “duping” customers into enrolling in courses they could not afford.
An appeals court has shut down a case brought by investment adviser Deep Investments against a solicitor and six others over $10 million in alleged share trading losses, saying the proceedings were an abuse of process.
The former CEO of Radio Rentals, James Marshall, has been dragged into a consumer class action alleging he knew the home goods rental company pushed misleading leases onto vulnerable consumers.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has not ruled out a challenge to a ruling that two Westpac subsidiaries didn’t provide personal financial advice as part of a campaign encouraging customers to roll over external superannuation accounts.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission wants to block former We Buy Houses director Rick Otton from using the proceeds from the sale of his $3.6 million Bondi home to help with legal costs and living expenses as he appeals a record $6 million fine for consumer law violations.
Maurice Blackburn stands to walk away with $5.8 million for its work on a consumer class action against Cash Converters that resulted in a $16.4 million settlement.
Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser is seeking more information after advertisements for rival AFT Pharmaceuticals’ Maxigesic painkiller were found in-store and online despite the court ordering the removal of the misleading displays earlier this month.
A court on Thursday hit property spruiker We Buy Houses and its sole director, Richard ‘Rick’ Otton, with a record $18 million in total fines for misleading property investors with claims they could learn to buy real estate for $1.
AFT Pharmaceuticals has been ordered to pull advertisements for its painkiller Maxigesic after the Federal Court ruled in favour of rival Reckitt Benckiser, finding the ads breached Australian Consumer Law.