A judge overseeing the Montara oil spill class action has found the Federal Court’s broad discretion under the class action regime is “outflanked” by the need to give group members a chance to opt out. But resolving that question on Thursday — which has divided the courts — caused a further wrinkle ahead of a hearing to weigh a settlement in the case.
Automotive electronics company Directed Electronics has largely prevailed in a five-year-old lawsuit alleging a former manager misappropriated company information and reaped $3.6 million in commissions through a secret side agreement with South Korean giant Hanhwa.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has placed interim stop orders on two crypto funds distributed by Perpetual Investment Management Limited, citing the need to protect retail clients from investing in risky, volatile funds.
Car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover has been hit with a class action alleging it misled drivers over vehicles fitted with defective diesel particulate filters.
Insurer Allianz has lost its bid to claw back millions in performance bonds provided to collapsed building company Probuild in relation to works at a $1 billion development in the Melbourne CBD.
The federal government has foreshadowed a review of Australia’s copyright enforcement regime, citing the need to maintain “a healthy environment for artists.”
A judge has dismissed a class action brought against animal health giant Zoetis over alleged side effects resulting from its Hendra virus horse vaccine, finding there were “too many uncertainties” in the applicant’s evidence.
Keeping up her scrutiny of fee disclosures by Adero Law in employment class actions launched in her court, a judge has questioned whether the law firm breached its fiduciary duty to the lead applicant in litigation against Drakes Supermarkets.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers partner has been taken to court over her alleged involvement in a $3.3 million scheme to defraud her husband’s employer to bankroll the couple’s lavish lifestyle, which included a $200,000 Porsche and extensive renovations to their Sydney home.
Westpac has objected to several proposed notices going out to group members in a class action over ‘junk’ consumer credit insurance, which three of the Big Four banks have agreed to pay $126 million to settle.