Directors of steel producer Arrium continued to borrow money from “vulnerable” lenders in the months prior to the company’s $2.8 billion collapse and “bled cash” despite the inevitable end, a number of lenders have said on the first day of a 40-day trial in the NSW Supreme Court.
ASIC has launched court proceedings against National Australia Bank accusing the bank of engaging in unconscionable conduct by charging more than $365,000 in fees to which it was not contractually entitled.
Pharmacy giant Priceline is the target of an “imminent” class action, with a group of dissatisfied franchisees accusing the company of exercising an “overly prescriptive” level of control over its franchises and fettering profitability.
Two Clive Palmer companies have again been blocked from accessing documents held by two law firms and a litigation funder to pursue a potential lawsuit against Queensland Nickel, with an appeal court dismissing the bid as “unmeritorious”.
IT giant Hewlett-Packard Australia has lost its appeal of a judgment requiring it to cough up $370,000 in unpaid commissions to a former sales executive after a court found the company was not entitled to retrospectively cap her incentive payments ‘at whim’.
A Federal Court judge overseeing two franchisee class actions against 7-Eleven has heard a landmark application for pre-trial oral discovery that could create another tool for lawyers to source evidence otherwise blocked by confidentiality agreements.
Two insurance brokers have dodged being dragged into class action proceedings against sandalwood producer Quintis to boost a settlement reached last year, as a fight over insurance owed to the company to cover the settlement continues.
Cruise company Australian Pacific Touring will resist any expansion of a test case over cancellations brought against it by a former passenger after its failure to properly provide discovery resulted in a fragmented hearing meant to conclude in September last year.
A former Freedom Foods group general counsel is seeking aggravated damages from the food and beverage manufacturer for claiming in court filings that she was fired for serious misconduct.
Accounting giant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has admitted in a Federal Court defence that it expects its partners to retire at the age of 62, but it says there is no obligation for partners to depart the firm at that age.