Shareholders of the collapsed Babcock & Brown have failed in their challenge to a ruling tossing their cases for damages for disclosure breaches during the global financial crisis, with an appeals court finding the investors had not shown the breaches caused any loss.
A $19.6 million legal bill racked up by the law firm behind two 7-Eleven class actions accusing the convenience store chain of misleading franchisees did not warrant the appointment of a contradictor to a hearing seeking approval of a $98 million settlement, a court has heard.
A judge has dismissed two cases brought by the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and other lenders against directors of the failed steel giant Arrium, saying he was not satisfied the directors’ representations on loan drawdown notices were false or that the company was insolvent when it went into voluntary administration in April 2016.
A unit of Oaktree Capital Management has been ordered to join all former shareholders of consumer brand wholesaler Marlin Brands as defendants in a case over the investment giant’s $200 million acquisition of the company that alleges fraud or wilful deceit on the part of the sellers.
Queensland crane company NQCranes wants to strike out the bulk of the ACCC’s amended case alleging a conspiracy with a multinational rival to divide the Brisbane and Newcastle markets, saying there was no evidence of the regulator’s new allegations of a second cartel agreement.
The ACCC has brought Federal Court action against major milk processor Lactalis Australia, the regulator’s first case for breaches of the dairy code of conduct.
Law firm Levitt Robinson has agreed to remove a series of Google ads promoting a class action against retirement home provider Aveo Group on behalf of residents over changes to the terms on which they could re-sell their units.
Westpac has been ordered to pay $3 million after two subsidiaries admitted misleading hundreds of superannuation customers about the financial adviser fees they were charged, a penalty that took into account the Big Four bank’s massive profits.
Consolidation of two consumer class actions against Allianz would do away with competition in a contest to lead a single case that would force a drop in the contingency fee rates of the rival law firms, the insurance giant has told a court.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken legal action against international dental care company Smile Direct Club for allegedly misleading tens of thousands of consumers with claims they would be eligible for private health insurance coverage for their aligner teeth straighteners.