The prudential regulator has opened the first day of its case against IOOF directors and entities by claiming the wealth manager’s liability is “plain as a pike staff”, as IOOF contends the regulator’s case is “artificial and theoretical” and “overly simplistic”.
A court has found Ariosa Diagnostics infringed a patent held by Sequenom for a noninvasive prenatal genetic test, and ruled one claim of the patent invalid for lack of fair basis.
IOOF subsidiary Australian Executor Trustees (SA) is facing an $82 million claim for compensation by investors angered by the way the trustee handled the sale of a 42,000 hectare timber plantation run by collapsed forestry giant Gunns Group.
A judge has released his reasons for consolidating two shareholder class actions against logistics company Brambles over opposition by the lead applicant in one of the competing cases, saying the interests of group members trumped those of the lawyers and funders in the case.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is challenging the dismissal of its enforcement action against National Australia Bank contractor Whitebox Trading and sole director Johannes Boshoff, which accused them of market manipulation that resulted in a spike in the price of securities on the ASX-200 index in October 2012.
Celebrity gardener Don Burke has prevailed in a defamation action brought by one of his accusers, journalist Wendy Dent, over comments he made during a TV interview, with a judge saying his “less than compelling” responses and the interviewer’s skepticism gave rise to “real doubts” about his credibility.
Slater & Gordon has struck back against allegations by a former senior solicitor that he was fired after making complaints about the law firm’s arrangement with a third-party funder for personal injury clients, denying any unethical practices and arguing the lawyer’s termination was part of a cost-cutting restructure.
A court has approved a settlement between the liquidators of failed fund manager Equititrust and auditor KPMG, after not a single objection was raised by unitholders or creditors who won’t receive anything after the entire amount is paid to the funder.
The funder backing the IAG add-on insurance class action has agreed to a fixed 25 per cent commission, after the plaintiff copped criticism from a judge for the largely redacted funding agreement which called for lower rates if the case settled by a certain date.
A judge has told the lead plaintiff in a class action over allegedly excessive legal fees to get their “house in order”, amid complaints by the Queensland compensation law firm at the centre of the dispute that the litigation is “costing them a fortune”.