Combatting “opportunistic” class actions is one of the main drivers behind proposed legislation to reform Australia’s continuous disclosure laws, but the federal treasury department has brushed off a Senate committee’s request for a list of cases apparently deserving of the derogatory tag.
Defence shipbuilder Austal has been hit with regulatory action over market disclosures linked to cost overruns with the company’s $3.5 billion US Navy warship program.
The government’s proposed changes to the country’s continuous disclosure regime substitutes a “bright line legal test” with a “very very messy law” that will weaken enforcement and could undermine the integrity of Australia’s capital markets, a Senate committee has heard.
A shareholder’s attempt to reverse a $3.15 million share acquisition by the managing director of construction giant Consolidated Builders Ltd has been dismissed by a judge, despite finding the case had “a reasonable probability of success”.
GetSwift is opposing a bid by the lead shareholder in a class action to rely at an upcoming trial on evidence given by overseas witnesses in last year’s hearing in ASIC’s case, and its resistance could force the class to bring a separate case in the US to compel fresh testimony, a court has heard.
A Federal Court judge has made his feelings known about a ruling by the NSW Supreme Court last year that found judges have no power to shut unregistered group members out of a class action, but said he was “just a single judge” and was bound by the decision.
Payments processing company EML is the target of a shareholder class action investigation over its alleged failure to timely alert the market to concerns about its money laundering risk and control systems.
Global resources giant BHP Group has lost an appeal in its fight to exclude foreign investors from a shareholder class action over the 2015 Fundao dam disaster, after arguing the class action regime applies only to those in Australia.
Plaintiffs law firm Slater & Gordon is considering a shareholder class action against the a2 Milk company over its 2021 financial year guidance, which was downgraded after weak baby formula sales to China.
At least 60 class actions were filed in Australian courts from July 1 last year to April 30, marking a record for new group cases in a financial year with two months to go, according to a preliminary report by King & Wood Mallesons’ disputes resolution team.