The Australian Securities and Investments Commission will continue its enforcement activities amid the spread of the coronavirus but will prioritise cracking down on behaviour that threatens “immediate consumer harm”.
Companies under financial strain from measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus will get a reprieve from insolvency and bankruptcy laws as the Federal Government looks to stem a possible tide of company collapses.
For the lawyers conducting the committal hearings in the criminal cartel case over ANZ’s $2.5 billion equity raising, the Sydney Downing Centre courtroom was already too close for comfort.
Six law firms are working on a consolidated trial of multiple class actions over the collapse of retailer Dick Smith, but when the trial opened in the NSW Supreme Court this week, a lone barrister appeared in court before Justice Michael Ball, amid a sea of empty bar tables. Most of the hearing’s participants joined through a virtual courtroom while members of the public were invited to watch the trial unfold on a YouTube live stream. Welcome to litigating in the age of the coronavirus.
The Federal Court has updated guidance on its response to the coronavirus outbreak, saying it is working with lawyers to ensure as many hearings listed for the coming months can proceed. And Monday’s calendar, while perhaps lighter than usual, shows multiple matters will be heard as planned — by telephone.
AFT Pharmaceuticals has lost its challenge to a ruling that ads claiming its painkiller Maxigesic is more effective than Nuremol were misleading and deceptive, with the Full Federal Court saying the primary judge did not err in finding the ads lacked an adequate scientific basis.
Billionaire Clive Palmer has lost his appeals court fight to shut down criminal proceedings alleging his resort company breached takeover laws, with three judges saying his claims were untenable.
The move by Australia’s highest courts to vacate in-person hearings in the face of the coronavirus pandemic is likely to have only a minor impact on cases in the short term, lawyers say, but the delays to trials and other major hearings will have a flow-on effect that could be felt for years to come.
BHP has failed in a bid to shut down a class action over the Fundao dam failure pending criminal proceedings in Brazil, with a judge ruling the mining giant would not be prejudiced if the case proceeded for now.
A unit of Telstra contractor Tandem has lost its bid to de-class a ‘sham’ contracting class action brought on behalf of telecommunications workers who claim they were denied benefits by being misclassified as contractors.