The competition regulator has cleared the way for Australian retail giant Wesfarmers to acquire online retailer Catch Group for $230 million, after finding the acquisition would be unlikely to impact competition in online marketplaces.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has appealed a Federal Court ruling that found Woolworths’ environmental claims for its line of compostable plates, bowls and cutlery were accurate, not false and misleading.
The applicants in the Radio Rentals class action have won access to the company’s excess layer insurance policies, amid concerns that group members’ losses from the allegedly misleading ‘Rent, Try, $1 Buy’ program could surpass $100 million.
While the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has set out to rein in the market power of Google and Facebook, the sweeping proposals in the regulator’s final digital platforms report would affect a large number of businesses and could have a detrimental effect on smaller companies and innovation, lawyers say.
Japanese shipping company K-Line has been hit with a $34.5 million penalty for criminal cartel conduct, the largest consumer criminal fine in Australian history.
Australia’s largest potato wholesaler Mitolo Group will pay a penalty of $240,000 to resolve the consumer regulator’s case alleging its contracts with growers were unfair.
A judge has warned the parties in The Cosmetic Institute class action over allegedly botched breast implants to ensure group members’ rights are prioritised, following a push for an early class closure amid doctor-patient confidentiality concerns.
Australian airline giant Qantas says it has no plans to decrease its 19.9 per cent stake in Alliance Airlines, after the competition watchdog expressed preliminary concerns the deal could substantially lessen competition.
A six-week trial set to start in October in the cartel case against mobility equipment provider Country Care Group has been vacated and rescheduled to next year, as the judge overseeing the case quipped that he was either the “canary or the guinea pig” in the landmark criminal proceeding.
Customers of mortgage lending and investment firm RMBL say they were “shocked” when the company’s chief financial officer allegedly called them to say “he hoped” they would opt out of an excessive fees class action that had been filed against the firm.