A judge has questioned ASIC’s proposed $5 million penalty against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, saying it was “on the light side” for the bank’s conduct in overcharging $8 million in fees on its agricultural products.
Bupa Aged Care has dropped a lawsuit challenging a directive by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission that it claimed overlapped with proceedings brought by the ACCC in which it was recently ordered to pay a $6 million penalty.
Former Dover Financial director Terry McMaster on Monday admitted to personally drafting a so-called client protection policy described by a judge as an “exercise in Orwellian doublespeak”, as the court heard evidence that the defunct financial firm ignored red flags raised by two law firms about the policy.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said competition by smaller airlines was essential ‘now, more than ever’ as the airline industry undergoes a major upheaval due to the coronavirus and the administration of Virgin Airlines, and vowed to continue its probe of Qantas’ 19.9 per cent stake in Alliance Airlines.
The Federal Court has granted ASIC a legal win against Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, finding that its small business loan contracts were unfair and created a “significant imbalance” that was likely to detriment customers.
Accepting that criminal proceedings were “on the cards” for accused Ponzi schemer Chris Marco, a judge has ordered the appointment of receivers to his assets and those of his company, AMS Holdings, saying there was a strong need for an independent assessment of the investment activities of the WA businessman.
Logistics company GetSwift and its directors have failed in a bid for a year-long delay of a trial scheduled to start next month in ASIC’s case alleging breaches of the Corporations Act, despite arguing that the procedural unfairness of a remote hearing gave the regulator a leg-up over the US-based company.
A five-month litigation drought due to the difficulties of remote investigations and staff diversions during the coronavirus pandemic will end soon, ACCC chairman Rod Sims told Lawyerly, with enforcement action set to ramp back up in the second half of the year.
The ACCC has lost its bid to stay a cartel appeal by Indonesian airline PT Garuda, with a judge finding the competition watchdog had not shown the airline acted in contempt of court by failing to pay a $19 million fine.
Cigno has appealed a ruling shooting down its challenge to the first action brought by ASIC under its powers to prohibit ‘predatory’ financial products, which targeted the payday lender’s model of short-term credit lending.