Competition & Consumer Protection

Chinese video camera company Bolin has won its bid for an urgent anti-anti-suit injunction against Australian competitor BirdDog, with a judge finding there was a risk of “irreparable prejudice” if Bolin lost its right to bring its claims.

A Melbourne pawnbroker is facing a class action over alleged “unjust transactions” involving loans that were given in exchange for customers’ sentimental items and with annual interest rates equivalent to 480 per cent.

Honda has admitted that it owes compensation to a Melbourne car dealer for a deliberate breach of contract following its decision to ditch a dealership model in Australia, but argues a $22 million damages claim by the dealer needs a “reality check”.

Beach Energy is fighting a bid to adjourn a fight about security for costs in a shareholder class action until the firm that’s running it has more favourable evidence of its debt financing position, saying the application is “doctrinally unprecedented.”

The ACCC’s rejection of a $4.9 billion merger between ANZ and Suncorp was hardly surprising given the concentrated nature of the home loans market, but the competition regulator faced an uphill battle in having the decision upheld, an expert says.

The ACCC’s decision to block a $4.9 billion merger between ANZ and Suncorp has been set aside, with a tribunal finding the transaction will not substantially lessen competition in the home loans market or for agribusiness and SME clients in Queensland. 

National Australia Bank has lost its bid to shield a case by a Melbourne gold bullion dealer after a judge said one of the bank’s arguments for suppression had “the air of a Kafka novel”.

Queensland power company Stanwell has flagged a possible ‘no case to answer’ submission in an upcoming competition class action trial that would seek to shut the case down mid-trial, with a judge saying it was “highly unlikely” to succeed. 

Instagram is planning to hit Dialogue Consulting with a cross-claim that accuses the Melbourne social media start-up of breaching US law related to the protection of users’ data and engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has raised concerns about the owner of realestate.com.au acquiring a national forms platform used by real estate agents, saying it could “significantly harm competitors”.