An investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has come under fire by the banks and directors targeted in a criminal case over alleged cartel conduct that claim the regulator “contaminated” key evidence and improperly used material supplied by ASIC.
Former Wallabies star Israel Folau offered to make a public apology for a homophobic social media slur that got him fired, a court has been told.
Lawyers for former Citigroup executive Stephen Roberts have complained that prosecutors have failed to provide a “shred of material” to explain his alleged involvement in a criminal cartel relating to ANZ’s $2.5 billion capital raising, as the defendants fight to grill Crown witnesses before trial.
Three syndicates of Lloyd’s London have failed in their bid to toss a case brought by National Australia Bank seeking £357 million ($655 million) in insurance claims relating to two consumer redress schemes in the UK.
US prenatal genetic test maker Ariosa Diagnostics has won its bid to appeal a ruling that its Harmony test infringed a patent owned by rival Sequenom.
The ACCC has issued final guidelines on how Australia’s competition laws will apply to intellectual property assignments and licences following the repeal of the ‘IP exemption’ from prohibitions on anti-competitive conduct which was contained in subsection 51(3) of the Competition and Consumer Act. As of September 13 the IP exemption no longer applies, however, certain worked examples remain undeveloped or unrealistic, such that uncertainties remain as to the ACCC’s likely approach in particular matters, writes Patrick Gay and Amalia Stone of Herbert Smith Freehills.
The plaintiffs firms running rival shareholder class actions against construction giant Lendlease have pitched a proposal to join their competing cases, a plan that should find favour with the judge overseeing the cases, who recently forced the consolidation of three duplicate class actions against failed engineering firm RCR Tomlinson.
The judge overseeing Vodafone’s court battle with the competition regulator over a proposed merger with TPG questioned TPG founder David Teoh when the billionaire boss told a courtroom Thursday mobile technology was rapidly evolving, a remark seemingly at odds with the teleco’s claim that it had no viable option in the next five years for resuming a stalled network rollout.
The reclusive head of TPG Telecom, David Teoh, faced the spotlight on Wednesday to give evidence in a case over the company’s planned $15 billion merger with Vodafone, telling a court under questioning that his company had not budgeted for a 5G network when it first made plans to enter the retail mobile network market.
The competition regulator’s opposition to the proposed $15 billion merger of telecommunications companies Vodafone and TPG was based on “mere possibilities” and was “chock full of speculation”, the Federal Court heard Tuesday.