A judge has dismissed an application by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to investigate two Sydney-based liquidators, saying the regulator had failed to prove its suspicions about the pair.
The battle over competing shareholder class actions against logistics tech company GetSwift is over, with the High Court rejecting a bid by one of the losing class action applicants to take another look at their case.
A judge has scheduled a two-day hearing to hear a dispute between investment group Caason Investments, a lead applicant in a shareholder class action against defunct laser technology company Arasor that settled last year for $19.25 million, and Singapore-based litigation funder International Litigation Partners over personal costs allegedly owed to the investment group under a “secret” side agreement.
GetSwift shareholders Clutterbuck Capital Management and KPT Capital have opted out of a class action against the logistics services provider, blasting the “inappropriate and questionable” actions by some involved in the class action proceedings.
Cereal giant Sanitarium and retailer Rebel Sports have lost their appeal against a decision of the NSW Supreme Court staying proceedings against a UK marketing company in a dispute over a $1.4 million joint promotional campaign.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, facing cross-claims by credit ratings agency Fitch in a class action alleging it gave false or misleading double A and triple A ratings to synthetic CDOs backed by Sigma Financial, told investors Fitch’s withdrawal of Sigma’s credit rating prior to the collapse of the $27 billion investment fund was a “technical” issue, the bank has admitted.
GetSwift has warned it may seek an injunction blocking Johnson Winter & Slattery from acting as instructing lawyers to the corporate cop in its enforcement action against the logistics company, saying the firm provided advisory work for it last year.
A judge’s decision to halt questioning about ASIC emails in a class action trial over the 2008 collapse of finance group Octaviar didn’t shut the case down, the Public Trustee of Queensland has told the Full Federal Court, calling the appeal of the class action’s dismissal “completely misconceived”.
Critical emails from ASIC regarding a $250 million loan facility to Octaviar Group before its 2008 collapse were not only overlooked by the Public Trustee of Queensland in its role overseeing the firm’s finances but were wrongly deemed irrelevant by the judge that heard the case, the Full Federal Court was told.
A judge won’t defer the opt-out notice in a shareholder class action against GetSwift pending the High Court’s decision on a special leave application to revive a competing class action, saying the sooner the case settles the better.