The High Court has granted applications by Westpac and BMW to weigh in on the validity of common fund orders made in class actions, a decision that could have major ramifications for the way representative proceedings are funded.
A court has dismissed a long-running case against defunct Babcock & Brown executives by a private investment fund over a botched $1.4B acquisition of the biggest laundry equipment provider in the US, saying the executives did not breach their duties by failing to disclose that the bank underwriting the deal allegedly wanted out.
APRA has been ordered to hand over all of its correspondence with fellow regulator ASIC relating to former IOOF chairman George Venardos, as he prepares to argue privilege over discovery that might incriminate him in any possible ASIC proceedings.
The Bank of Queensland has criticised a judgment which found the bank’s insurance policy left it on the hook for a $6 million settlement of a class action brought by investors in a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme by jailed fraudster Bradley Sherwin.
A battle over expert evidence in an invester class action against Fitch Ratings has delayed this month’s scheduled trial in the case by three months and forced the court to send the parties’ experts into conclaves.
A Sydney franchisee who claimed he sunk more than $160,000 into two swim schools that were never built has lost his case for damages against troubled franchise Jump!, as it faces ongoing questions from the consumer watchdog.
A proposed Novartis patent for an oral form of its top-selling multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya is invalid for lack of inventive step, IP Australia has found, but gave the pharmaceutical giant a chance to amend.
Two female academics who made complaints of bullying against the head of La Trobe University’s law school and were named in his legal action against the university over his subsequent suspension have lost a bid to keep their identities under wraps.
A judge has dismissed an application by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to investigate two Sydney-based liquidators, saying the regulator had failed to prove its suspicions about the pair.
A judge has consolidated two shareholder class actions brought against chain logistics company Brambles by Slater & Gordon and Maurice Blackburn, despite the rival firms failing to reach an agreement on the terms of the consolidation following a judge’s criticism of the class action “beauty parade”.