A judge has found that auditor Ernst & Young cannot rely on the privilege against self-incrimination in a lawsuit brought over its audits of failed financial services firm LM Investment Management.
James Mawhinney, director of the besieged Mayfair Group, has lost his bid to slow down two proceedings filed by ASIC which he claims will have a “catastrophic” effect on his business, staff and investors.
Billionaire Clive Palmer has claimed that he wrote the lyrics to ‘Australia’s Not Gonna Cop It’ in the early hours of the morning while “deep in contemplation” at his bedside, telling the Federal Court that the song was inspired by the Peter Finch film ‘Network’ and not Twisted Sister’s rock anthem.
The consumer watchdog has filed court proceedings against Fuji Xerox alleging the Japanese print giant’s standard form contracts with small businesses contain a bevvy of unfair contract terms that could cause them harm.
A judge’s decision to throw out a shareholder class action against engineering company Worley is a loss for plaintiffs lawyers and could result in fewer listed companies willing to settle cases alleging they breached their disclosure obligations, but the ruling is not likely to have a significant chilling effect on securities litigation.
Software company LiveTiles will pay $8.445 million to settle litigation brought by Microsoft solutions provider nSynergy’s founder Keith Redenbach against his brother, LiveTiles CEO Karl Redenbach, alleging he diverted tens of millions of dollars in nSynergy’s assets, including LiveTiles.
Medical device maker Covidien has lost a bid to have the applicant in a product liability class action over allegedly defective pelvic mesh front $300,000 as security for its legal costs in the event it wins the case.
A sense of frustration with current uncertainty in the caselaw and inconsistency in the approaches of judges was a prominent theme that emerged from personal interviews with 30 experienced class action practitioners conducted over two months by Dr Peter Cashman and Amelia Simpson of the University of New South Wales.
The maker of pain killer Maxigesic is taking its long-running battle with Nuromol manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser to an appeals court after a recent ruling that its advertising misled consumers by claiming Maxigesic provided better, faster and more effective pain relief than paracetamol or ibuprofen.
A Victoria Supreme Court class action will soon be filed against fertility clinic Monash IVF seeking compensation for women who allegedly had viable embryos discarded thanks to inaccurate genetic testing.