Sandalwood producer Quintis has agreed to settle two class actions by shareholders, but the claims against company founder Frank Wilson and auditor EY will proceed for now.
Lamenting that he now has less flexibility to manage commission rates, a judge has called for legislative intervention to give courts authority to regulate funding arrangements at the outset of class actions, a power stripped from them by the High Court late last year.
The Australian Institute of Company Directors is calling on the Federal Government to bar lawsuits over coronavirus-related disclosures, including class actions, but some lawyers warned the proposal would leave companies free to mislead and deceive shareholders.
Treasury Wine Estates has said it will vigorously defend a shareholder class action filed this week over a recent earnings downgrade, one of two possible class actions the wine producer could be facing over the announcement.
Activist short seller Bonitas Research must pay Rural Funds Management almost $900,000 after the US-based Bonitas was found to have engaged in misleading or decpetive conduct in issuing a report describing the agricultural fund manager’s equity as “ultimately worthless”.
The hunt for the missing Blackberry of deceased class action lawyer and funder Mark Elliott is over, and the located phone will now be examined by IT experts to see if it can be searched for potential evidence to be used as part of an investigation of alleged professional misconduct by the legal team behind a class action against failed Banksia Securities.
Group members in two settled class actions against clothing retailer Surfstitch have been told the settlement amount available to them has plummeted amid a “very difficult retail environment”.
Construction giant Boral is facing a shareholder class action for allegedly failing to disclose financial irregularities in its US windows business.
BHP has failed in a bid to shut down a class action over the Fundao dam failure pending criminal proceedings in Brazil, with a judge ruling the mining giant would not be prejudiced if the case proceeded for now.
A judge has given his blessing to a $49.7 million settlement of two class actions that alleged infant food maker Bellamy’s misled investors about its China growth strategy and declining market share in Australia.