The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has launched the first-ever civil penalty case for greenwashing, alleging Mercer Superannuation misled investors about the sustainability of its investment options.
King & Wood Mallesons has denied the claims in a lawsuit by defunct stockbroker Halifax Investment Services alleging it failed to advise it of an obligation to hold client funds on trust, and has said another law firm should also take the blame if it is found negligent.
Maurice Blackburn has had a second crack at a group costs order in three class actions against banks over alleged flexible commission schemes after a judge in 2021 rejected what was then the first-ever application for a contingency fee.
Personal lender ClearLoans and its parent company have been hit with $6 million in penalties for violating consumer credit protections laws, including by failing to respond to financial hardship notices from debtors during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has urged the Full Court to toss ASIC’s challenge to a decision dismissing its conflicted remuneration case over the bank’s sale of its Essential Super product, saying the appeal suffered from “fatal” flaws.
A third individual has been hit with criminal charges in relation to collapsed investment management fund Courtenay House, which ASIC alleges was run as a $180 million Ponzi scheme.
A mortgage broker has lost his challenge to a tribunal’s decision to uphold a lifelong ban by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Accounting firm Pitcher Partners has lost an application to dismiss a $127 million lawsuit by the family of race car driver Max Twigg as an abuse of process, with a judge rejecting its claim that the proceedings were deliberately delayed.
Melbourne man Joshua Fuoco has been fined $6,000 and convicted for managing the now defunct consumer lender Financial Circle while disqualified.
Fintech Tyro has agreed to settle a class action brought by retailers who were unable to process payments during a days-long EFTPOS outage in January 2021.