Regulators

Mining giant Clive Palmer has asked the High Court to hear his challenge to a court’s finding that lawsuits he brought challenging two criminal cases against him over a takeover bid and payments to his political party were themselves an abuse of process and should be stayed.

The ACCC’s rejection of a $4.9 billion merger between ANZ and Suncorp was hardly surprising given the concentrated nature of the home loans market, but the competition regulator faced an uphill battle in having the decision upheld, an expert says.

The ACCC’s decision to block a $4.9 billion merger between ANZ and Suncorp has been set aside, with a tribunal finding the transaction will not substantially lessen competition in the home loans market or for agribusiness and SME clients in Queensland. 

The Fair Work Ombudsman has won its underpayments case against restaurant chain Sushi Bay and its director, with a judge finding the company forced migrant workers to pay back their entitlements in cash in a “calculated and institutional effort” to conceal wrongdoing. 

In a case believed to be the first of its kind, the liquidators of boiler room trader Forex Capital Trading have sued ASIC, seeking to claw back over $20 million in fines and costs they says constituted unfair preference payments and should be distributed among the company’s out-of-pocket clients. 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has raised concerns about the owner of realestate.com.au acquiring a national forms platform used by real estate agents, saying it could “significantly harm competitors”. 

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has taken two units of Paladin Group and one of its directors to court for allegedly raising more than $100 million from 258 investors without a financial services licence.

Mazda has been ordered to pay $11.5 million after a court found the Japanese car maker engaged in “appalling” customer service and misled nine purchasers of defective vehicles about their entitlement to a refund or replacement under the Australian Consumer Law.

Noumi has argued a PricewaterhouseCoopers report commissioned by its lawyers at Ashurst is protected by legal professional privilege, after the food manufacturer admitted to overstating the value of its inventory and failing to properly disclose its financial position.

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs is facing a class action investigation for allegedly sharing the sensitive medical and personal data of 300,000 veterans and their families without authorisation.