The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has warned it could take enforcement action if its finds banks are misleading customers about foreign exchanges fees and warned banks’ use of their compliance obligations to deny banking services to their non-bank competitors could constrain competition in the market for foreign exchange services.
A recent Federal Court decision means cooperation between courts in different international jurisdictions, which would once have been regarded as entirely novel, may now be a welcome option for liquidators to achieve a more efficient liquidation of insolvent corporate groups, writes K&L Gates’ Jason Opperman, Katherine Smith and Catherine Crawford.
Merck Sharp & Dohme has emerged victorious in a battle over documents with Wyeth, as the parties gear up for a hearing on Wyeth’s request to reopen a trial over three patents for its Prevnar 13 pneumococcal vaccine.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has brought proceedings against publicly-traded BlueScope Steel and a former general manager for allegedly engaging in “serious cartel conduct” in relation to the supply of flat steel products in Australia.
The Federal Court has partially struck out publisher Pan Macmillan Australia’s defence in a defamation case brought by Sydney identity Thomas Domican over a “fleeting reference” in a book by nightclub magnate John Ibrahim.
Actor Geoffrey Rush has come up short in his bid for an injunction blocking The Daily Telegraph from repeating allegations in the successful defamation case he brought against the publisher, with a judge citing the public interest in free speech and the lack of foundation for the actor’s concerns.
Concerns about duplicative costs in multiple class actions are better addressed by case management decisions aimed at cutting excessive expense, not by limiting the amount lawyers representing group members can spend, the Full Federal Court has said in dismissing an appeal by baby food maker Bellamy’s.
Rugby league player Jack de Belin has dropped his appeal of a ruling dismissing his challenge to the National Rugby’s League “no fault” stand-down rule.
A party to a contract may be precluded from enforcing a contractual right if it has acted in a way that is clearly inconsistent with that right under the doctrine of election. Recently, the NSW Court of Appeal applied the principles of election to a complex factual scenario and the lesson from the decision is this — if you have a right to terminate a contract, you should expressly communicate your intentions to the other party as soon as possible after the right to terminate enlivens, says McCabe Curwood managing principal Andrew Lacey.
The ACCC won’t stand in the way of rural supply giant Landmark’s proposed $469 million takeover of competitor Ruralco, with the competition regulator saying the importance of customer relationships would leave room for independent retailers to compete.