The Full Federal Court has handed the Australian Securities and Investments Commission a win in a high-stakes appeal over what constitutes personal advice under financial services laws, finding Westpac violated its duty to act in its customers best interests through a superannuation rollover campaign.
International money transfer giant Western Union has successfully appealed a $160,000 judgment in an employment discrimination case, with the Full Federal Court finding the firm’s HR manager could not have known the employee, who was absent from work for seven months prior to the dismissal, actually suffered from a mental disability.
The High Court has granted a Nigerian agent tricked into terminating his contract with international bank note manufacturer CCL Secure special leave to appeal a Full Federal Court judgment slashing a $65 million award in his favour.
A judge has briefly stayed his $76.6 million judgment against IOOF subsidiary Australian Executor Trustees over the sale of a timber plantation by the collapsed Gunns Group as AET weighs an appeal of the ruling, which dismissed its cross-claim against law firm Sparke Helmore.
The Federal Government has lost a challenge raising discrimination concerns around a Fair Work Commission-approved enterprise agreement covering metropolitan firefighters in Victoria, with an FWC review panel finding its appeal lacked merit.
Mining magnate Andrew Forest’s Fortescue Metals is facing a possible compensation claim after losing its appeal of a ruling that granted native title to to the Yinjibarndi people over a large section of land in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The Full Federal Court has reimposed bans against four former directors of collapsed retirement village owner Prime Trust, including former federal health minister Michael Wooldridge, following a successful High Court challenge by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
The High Court has shut down a lawsuit by mortgage aggregator Connective Services over the transfer of one third of the company’s shares after finding the proceeding prejudiced shareholders and contravened the Corporations Act.
A challenge by Quinn Emanuel to a NSW Supreme Court decision staying its shareholder class action against AMP has been unanimously dismissed by the Court of Appeal, which found the class action beauty contest was not decided in error and that subsequently filed representative proceedings were not an abuse of process.
A failed challenge by baby food maker Bellamy’s Australia to a decision rejecting its application to limit legal costs in two class actions was “not strong”, but was not so unreasonable as to put them on the hook for indemnity costs, the Full Federal Court has ruled.