An appeals court has been urged to uphold a judge’s $125 million penalty against Volkswagen in the ACCC’s case over the car maker’s emissions cheating, with a court-appointed contradictor saying the judge was “starved” of the information he required to assess whether a $75 million agreement brokered by the consumer watchdog was reasonable.
The Australian Taxation Office has won its appeal of a ruling that found that a 15 per cent ‘Backpacker’s Tax’ imposed on holders of Australian working holiday visas was unlawful.
A judge has narrowed discovery in a class action against the Commonwealth of Australia over allegedly unlawful Robodebt payments, criticising the lead applicants for persisting with an approach to discovery that “was not a particularly helpful one”.
The Federal Government will not challenge a ruling in a class action brought on behalf of live exporters which found a total ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia in 2011 was “capricious and unreasonable”.
Australia’s corporate watchdog has lost its bid to obtain Ashurst’s advice to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group about potentially illegal bank fees “for now”, but a judge has signalled that this may not be the end of the matter.
Cleaning services giant Spotless must pay redundancy entitlements to a group of workers it sacked, after failing to convince a court of appeal that it was exempt from making the payments.
The lead applicant in a class action against the Federal Government over its total ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia in 2011 has been awarded $2.9 million, potentially exposing the government to hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
US-based Facebook has argued that it does not carry on business in Australia despite users in Australia accessing its website, calling for the dismissal of action brought by the Australian Information Commissioner over alleged privacy breaches.
Ashurst notified Australia and New Zealand Banking Group almost a decade ago about issues relating to its illegal fees, ASIC has told the Federal Court as it fights for documents from the law firm.
After claiming he could be vindicated only by giving evidence in open court, war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith looks likely to get his wish, as the parties to his defamation proceedings finalise negotiations with the Federal Government on the use of national security information.