Competition & Consumer Protection

A New South Wales developer’s competition case against NSW Ports over a ports privatisation agreement looks bound for the High Court after a judge found a related ACCC proceeding did not bar it from bringing the case, which will challenge a Full Court finding that the ports operator was shielded by derivative Crown immunity.

Ramsay Health Care has won a partial interim injunction banning the union representing its nurses from running ads that claim the private hospital operator runs on a staff-to-patient ratio double that of public hospitals.

Consumers are “generally unaware” of the extent to which data firms and third parties mine and utilise their data, according to a report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. 

The Northern Territory public housing authority has moved to throw out a class action’s claims that it engaged in racial discrimination by failing to maintain public housing in remote Aboriginal communities. 

A decision awarding carriage to Gilbert + Tobin in a class action against Jaguar Land Rover on the condition that it lower its funding rate lacked procedural fairness, the Full Court has found, prompting the firm to team up with its competitor to run the case. 

Four insurers have agreed to fork over $1 million to settle an investor class action against lender Axsesstoday over an allegedly misleading prospectus for a bond offering, while claims against PricewaterhouseCoopers will move forward.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has expressed concerns that France-based Louis Dreyfus’ proposed acquisition of ASX-traded cotton gin operator Namoi Cotton could substantially lessen competition and lead to higher prices for ginning services.

A judge has expressed concerns about the plaintiff’s proposed group costs order rate in a shareholder class action against fleet management company FleetPartners, saying the purpose of the GCO regime was to lower costs to group members.

The plaintiffs in a class action against a group of surgeons who worked for The Cosmetic Institute have told a court that a costs assessment is not necessary to approve a $25 million settlement, which will see $10 million deducted for legal and administrative costs, in light of reductions to the fees. 

A Perth-based forex trader that allegedly failed to return investors’ funds or any profits made on trading has taken no steps in the undefended class action, a court has heard.