A judge has released his reasons for consolidating two shareholder class actions against logistics company Brambles over opposition by the lead applicant in one of the competing cases, saying the interests of group members trumped those of the lawyers and funders in the case.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is challenging the dismissal of its enforcement action against National Australia Bank contractor Whitebox Trading and sole director Johannes Boshoff, which accused them of market manipulation that resulted in a spike in the price of securities on the ASX-200 index in October 2012.
A self-described “vigilant lawyer against big companies” has attempted to make submissions regarding the costs incurred in the Sirtex shareholder class action settlement, with legal fees and funders’ commissions chewing up half of the $40 million settlement figure. Maurice Blackburn took the lead after two shareholder class actions relating to the biotech company’s revised sales…
An appeals court has dismissed a third attempt by directors of mortgage aggregator Connective Group to stifle a shareholder’s derivative lawsuit over a restructure that allowed the sale of 25 per cent of its business to Macquarie Bank.
Facing cross claims by Pitcher Partners in two shareholder class actions alleging the accounting firm wrongly signed off on Slater & Gordon’s financial reports ahead of a share price nosedive, the law firm and its ex-directors say they relied on the auditor to ensure the veracity of the statements.
The former directors of Murray Goulburn, who admitted in proceedings brought by the ACCC to aiding in false representations the dairy co-op made to farmers about the farmgate milk prices it would pay during the 2015-16 season, are now facing a separate lawsuit by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Dairy supplier Murray Goulburn has agreed to pay $42 million to settle one of two shareholder class actions over a 2016 profit forecast revision that sent the co-op’s unit price falling more than 40 per cent in five days.
ANZ Bank has secured a stay of the corporate cop’s civil penalties proceeding over disclosures related to its $2.5 billion equity capital raising while it fights criminal cartel charges related to the controversial share placement.
Rival law firms Phi Finney McDonald and Maurice Blackburn have offered to consolidate their competing shareholder class actions against BHP after prompting by the Full Federal Court, which said Friday it approved of the plan.
Shareholders of troubled sandalwood producer Quintis who are eligible group members in two consolidated class actions against the company can bet on which of the two cases will give them the best returns, if any, and the Federal Court has appointed an independent lawyer to help them make the choice.