Shareholder cases made up half of all class actions filed in the past two years, and are to blame for an “unprecedented spike” in class actions, according to a new report by a leading defence law firm.
Shareholders who registered for a class action against mining company MacMahon Holdings will get a $2.4 million cut of a proposed $6.7 million settlement, according to a notice sent to group members ahead of next week’s settlement approval hearing.
Real estate advertiser REA Group has won an emergency injunction against Domain that blocks its rival from authorising the owner of the US website realestate.com to redirect Australian traffic to Domain.
Fairfax is facing a defamation lawsuit from the former head of franchise giant Retail Food Group, who alleges a series of articles in the Sydney Morning Herald implied he engaged in dishonest business practices, including stealing property from former INXS frontman Michael Hutchence and associating with the mafia.
A court has told the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to produce more detailed allegations against former Tennis Australia directors Harold Mitchell and Stephen Healy over Seven Network’s five-year deal for the broadcast rights to the Australian Open after the regulator was slammed for a vague filing.
A lingering dispute with the tax office remains, but the distribution of the record $795 million Black Saturday class actions settlement is substantially complete, according to a report out this week, and the proceedings, by the measure of at least one expert, show why the class action system in Australia is working.
IP owners need to consider the key or core licensing arrangements over the next six months and consider the competition law implications of conditions/restrictions in these licences, say Ayman Guirguis and David Howarth of K&L Gates.
The ACCC has raised competition concerns over the proposed $578 million acquisition of waste collection and processing service Dial-a-Dump by competitor Bingo.
Online real estate giant REA Group is suing competitor Domain Group over a referral arrangement with the US-based owner of the web address realestate.com, saying the deal amounts to trade mark infringement and misleading and deceptive conduct.
Generic drug maker Sandoz has been found liable for patent infringement and misleading and deceptive conduct in a case by pharmaceutical giant Lundbeck over its blockbuster antidepressant Lexapro, ending a battle that has raged for 15 years.