Securities

ASX-listed gourmet food company Maggie Beer has been dragged to court by the founders of Hampers & Gifts Australia over a $10 million earnout that was part of a $40 million agreement to acquire the e-commerce company in 2021. 

A former director of Noumi has won his challenge to the food manufacturer’s claim for legal professional privilege over a PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by its lawyers at Ashurst, with a judge finding the company waived privilege by disclosing it to Australian Securities and Investments Commission. 

A judge has approved a group costs order in a shareholder class action against building materials giant James Hardie Industries, giving firm Echo Law a 27.5 per cent cut of any proceeds from the case.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has dropped its investigation into whether Nuix’s chief executive officer Jonathan Rubinsztein unlawfully bought shares in the company after learning about a potential takeover offer.

A judge has rejected Aussie Broadband’s bid to restrain internet service provider Superloop from acting on a sell order issued last month, calling the argument that Superloop issued the order for an improper purpose “a very weak” one. 

A funder that bankrolled a class action that was stayed against Dixon Advisory has argued it should receive $969,000 from a $16 million settlement reached in the competing proceedings that went ahead, saying its costs were spent to protect group members’ interests.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has won its first civil penalty proceeding in a greenwashing case, with a court finding against Vanguard Investments over its $1 billion “ethically conscious” hedge fund.

A judge has approved a settlement in a shareholder class action against livestock exporter Wellard that grants a 34 per cent cut for group members, saying that investors had agreed to the lawyers and funder receiving the “lion’s share”. 

A law firm running a shareholder class action against building materials giant James Hardie Industries has argued for a 27.5 per cent group costs order, saying it was the “standard benchmark” for earnings guidance cases. 

A former corporate adviser will spend at least nine months in jail after pleading guilty to trading in Genesis Minerals shares in September 2021 with insider knowledge, netting almost $60,000 in profits.