A judge has questioned whether he should approve the $3 million legal bill in the settled Discovery Metals shareholder class action against KPMG, amid concerns the plaintiff’s lawyers, Piper Alderman, breached legal profession regulations by failing to update their estimated costs.
A judge has found a senior female partner at Piper Alderman has not provided sufficient evidence that the firm moved to oust her from its ranks because she is a woman, in a ruling dismissing her bid for an order halting the firm from moving forward with a meeting on the proposed expulsion.
A judge has signed off on the confidential settlement of a shareholder class action brought against KPMG relating to the failed $830 million hostile takeover of mining firm Discovery Metals, despite objections that the settlement process was “unfair and unjust”.
The job of a senior Piper Alderman partner is in jeopardy after a court refused to extend an injunction preventing her from being ousted from the partnership while she battles a sex discrimination case against the firm.
One of two lead applicants in the settled Arasor shareholder class action has been denied leave to be heard over its $1 million personal expenses dispute with litigation funder International Litigation Partners after missing a filing deadline, with a judge calling its handling of the case “shambolic”.
US hedge fund Oaktree Capital has placed fund manager Blue Sky Alternative Investments into receivership, following a tumultuous period marked by the loss of senior executives and three shareholder class action investigations amid concerns about the company’s method for valuing its assets under management.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has dropped its probe into Blue Sky over possible violations of its continuous disclosure obligations, but the fund manager still faces three active shareholder class action investigations.
A court has dismissed a long-running case against defunct Babcock & Brown executives by a private investment fund over a botched $1.4B acquisition of the biggest laundry equipment provider in the US, saying the executives did not breach their duties by failing to disclose that the bank underwriting the deal allegedly wanted out.
The Quintis shareholder class action trial could be delayed for almost two years, while ASIC runs its civil proceedings case against the founder of the sandalwood oil production company.
Horse vaccine maker Zoetis has appealed a ruling that denied its request for $450,000 as security for costs in an unfunded class action accusing it of failing to warn about the vaccine’s side effects.