Combatting “opportunistic” class actions is one of the main drivers behind proposed legislation to reform Australia’s continuous disclosure laws, but the federal treasury department has brushed off a Senate committee’s request for a list of cases apparently deserving of the derogatory tag.
The ACCC has cleared Woolworths’ planned $552 million acquisition of a 65 per cent stake in wholesale food distributor PFD Food Services without the supermarket giant’s proposed undertaking to maintain independence between the company for three years.
Volkswagen has asked the High Court to throw out a a landmark $125 million penalty over its emissions cheating scandal, the highest ever handed down in Australia for consumer law violations.
Westpac has shot back at a lawsuit brought by ASIC over the selling of alleged poor value insurance products, with the bank saying its customers had agreed to take out the “optional” coverage.
Defence shipbuilder Austal has been hit with regulatory action over market disclosures linked to cost overruns with the company’s $3.5 billion US Navy warship program.
Video game developer Epic Games has asked the Full Federal Court to overturn an “illogical” decision sending its competition lawsuit against Apple to California, saying the move would have a “chilling effect” on the enforcement of Australia’s competition laws.
Criminal charges have been laid against the auditor of stockbroker Halifax Investment Services, whose 2008 collapse left around $200 million in client funds trapped, in the first criminal charges brought over auditing services in Australia.
Crown Resorts admitted Monday that it broke a state law at its Melbourne casino over a five-year period and revealed the financial crimes regulator has expanded its money laundering investigation to include the company’s Perth casino.
AUSTRAC’s long-running investigation into NAB’s compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws has progressed, with the matter being referred to the financial crime regulator’s enforcement team.
The Beatles hit producer EMI has lost its “ambitious” opposition to Australian craft company Spotlight registering ‘Abbey Road’ as a trade mark for its yarn products.