The public hearings before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services as part of an inquiry into litigation funding and regulation of the class action industry proved to be polarised and, at times, hostile and adversarial in tone. But the inquiry has proven to be a useful and insightful process and questioning by the Committee served to unearth not only relevant factual information and important empirical data but also touched on the commercial and financial interests of those on both sides of the debate.
A former University of Technology Sydney professor based in Shanghai has filed a lawsuit accusing the university of race and age discrimination, alleging his contract was not renewed after the dean of the business school said he wanted to appoint a Chinese person to his position.
Chevron has taken Australian petrol station operator Ampol to court over its allegedly infringing use of the ‘Caltex’ brand, eight months after the US oil giant severed the companies’ trade mark licence agreement.
A former executive of BlueScope Steel has pleaded guilty to obstructing an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission price fixing investigation, in the first criminal charges ever brought against an individual in relation to an ACCC probe.
Social media giant Facebook has come out swinging over the Morrison government’s proposed news media bargaining code, threatening to stop Australians from sharing local and international news on Facebook and Instagram if the code becomes law.
Slater and Gordon has brought proceedings against a sacked principal lawyer who led the firm’s largest practice in its Penrith, NSW office, seeking injunctions to prevent her from poaching clients allegedly worth over $1.3 million in billing revenue.
Financial services giant IOOF Holdings will be on the hook for any judgments or settlements reached in two class actions and an ASIC lawsuit as part of its $1.4 billion acquisition of NAB wealth management unit MLC.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has told lawyers it will no longer publicise its investigations into completed mergers, which until now have been listed on the mergers public register.
Fintech firm iSignthis has revealed that it has spent over $1 million in legal costs pursuing its $264 million lawsuit over misleading and deceptive conduct against the Australian Stock Exchange.
The Federal Court has granted a bid by global solar cell manufacturer Hanwha to amend the patent behind its solar technology at the centre of a hotly contested infringement case against three rivals.