The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has launched proceedings against investment firm Mayfair 101 Group and Mayfair Platinum accusing them of misleading advertising.
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.
Personal healthcare giant PZ Cussons is seeking indemnity costs from the ACCC, claiming the regulator unreasonably rejected a settlement offer in its case over an alleged laundry detergent cartel.
Real estate agents advising tenants who may be unable to pay their rent to draw down their superannuation have raised the ire of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which warned they could be violating the Corporations Act.
A judge has ordered that Joseph ‘Diamond Joe’ Gutnik’s Merlin Diamonds be wound up after the mining company’s provisional liquidators uncovered “serious contraventions” and a “serious failure of governance”.
Barristers for the ACCC and online retailer Kogan have been asked to robe up at home as the previously in-person trial shifts to videochat in response to the COVID-19 health crisis.
The Chief Justice of the Federal Court says a system is needed to ensure parties don’t interrupt one another during virtual hearings, and noted the increase in online hearings brought on by the coronavirus may also free judges up to hear cases outside their registries.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has found Bunnings’ $30 million takeover of Adelaide Tools and Oaklands Mower Centre would not substantially lessen competition, but warned it would closely scrutinise future moves that would further cement the hardware giant’s dominant position.
Tasmanian state-owned ports company TasPorts has admitted to charging additional fees to the owner of a local port, but has denied the ACCC’s allegations that these actions constituted a misuse of market power designed to stymie competition.
Westpac is still locked in mediation with AUSTRAC over allegations that it committed over 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, with the bank’s hopes of moving to a penalty hearing in the early part of the year fading.