The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken legal action against international dental care company Smile Direct Club for allegedly misleading tens of thousands of consumers with claims they would be eligible for private health insurance coverage for their aligner teeth straighteners.
Zurich Group life insurance subsidiary OnePath Life will refund $35 million to 40,000 customers who were sold life insurance over the phone and were subject to “egregious” sales practices.
ASIC may end exemptions for law firms running class actions under conditional costs schemes from complying with registration and licensing requirements that were put in place as part of the federal government’s reforms targeting litigation funders.
The Federal Court has ordered the winding up of Forum Finance, which has been accused by Westpac and French investment bank Societe Generale of a $263 million fraud, as details of the company’s jetsetting director’s planned return to Australia from Europe remain murky.
Dixon Advisory has agreed to pay a $7.2 million penalty after admitting to ASIC’s allegations that it failed to act in its clients’ best interests on 53 occasions.
Apple plans to appeal the Full Federal Court’s decision that Epic Games’ misuse of market power lawsuit over it App Store terms should be heard in Australia because the case raises issues of “fundamental public interest”.
A judge has approved a $50 million settlement in a shareholder class action against failed training company Vocation and auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers, but questioned whether the $10.9 million commission and $12.75 million legal bill could have been “materially lower” had the case been run by one funder and firm instead of two.
Retail tech and dating start-up Instagoods has appealed a successful challenge of its Instadate trade mark registration by social media giant Instagram.
The former boss of defence shipbuilder Austal, who is facing penalty proceedings by ASIC, has told a court the regulator’s case was based on information that fit within a carveout to the ASX listing rules on continuous dislosure to the market.
Telecommunications giant Telstra will provide $25 million in refunds to almost 50,000 customers after failing to inform them the speeds they were promised could not be obtained on the NBN.