The CDPP’s decision to drop all criminal cartel charges against two banks and four individuals in a “test case” over a $2.5 billion ANZ share placement shows the ACCC “lacks expertise and objectivity” on the financial markets and should leave them to ASIC to regulate, according to one of the former accused.
In a stunning reversal, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution has dropped all criminal cartel charges against two investment banks and four individuals in relation to a $2.5 billion ANZ share placement, four years after the charges were brought following an allegedly questionable investigation by the ACCC.
Class action settlement totals skyrocketed to over $900 million last year, and one law firm negotiated the lion’s share, with $672 million in settlements under its belt.
An appeals court has found it “inconceivable” that legislation aimed at protecting public health would not have afforded the New South Wales health minister the power to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for certain workers, given the outbreak of the Delta strain of the coronavirus.
A Federal Circuit Court judge has hit back at accusations he conducted “the grossest parody of a court hearing” when he unlawfully imprisoned a Queensland man for contempt of court, telling a trial “he is a human being [who] made a mistake”.
Hospitality giant Merivale has streamlined its defence of a $129 million underpayment class action, arguing that it shouldn’t be expected to back pay employees because it operated its business under the mistaken belief that its enterprise agreement governing staff at 70 of its venues was valid.
The High Court has rejected Volkswagen’s special leave application to challenge a record $125 million penalty for selling cars with a defeat device that allowed them to cheat on emissions tests.
A court has struck down the third wave of challenges to the New South Wales public health orders mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for health workers, ruling the “dictates” of a person’s conscience do not relieve them of compliance with the orders.
The Victorian Supreme Court will push ahead with a hearing for a group costs order in a class action by Arrium shareholders despite requests by the applicants that it be put off until after judgment is issued on the second-ever group costs order request.
A court has dismissed challenges to the New South Wales public health orders that made it mandatory for certain workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, declaring they did not breach workers’ rights to bodily integrity.