The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has won its first civil penalty proceeding in a greenwashing case, with a court finding against Vanguard Investments over its $1 billion “ethically conscious” hedge fund.
Companies and government entities paid out less to settle class actions in 2023 than in the previous two years, with no mega settlements hitting their pocketbooks.
A judge has approved a 24 per cent group costs order in a consolidated class action against a2 Milk, noting the complexity of the claims against the dairy giant and saying a GCO would align the class action lawyers’ interests with group members’.
A judge has ordered KPMG to turn over its complete audit files for CuDeco in a shareholder class action against the defunct mining company’s former company directors and the accounting firm over allegedly misleading statements about the value of ore reserves at CuDeco’s Rocklands mines in Queensland.
A judge has sided with National Tiles founder Frank Walker over the privilege status of advice from his lawyers in a case by a former director alleging Walker falsified minutes of a crucial company board meeting, saying the evidence on its face did not suggest the minutes had been fabricated.
Wealth manager Colonial First State Investments has agreed to pay $100 million to resolve a consumer class action alleging it charged excessive fees on superannuation accounts, in one of the biggest class action settlements of the year so far.
A shareholder class action against KPMG and the directors of defunct mining company CuDeco is seeking insurance information and a limited number of documents from the directors ahead of mediation, to avoid a “train wreck” of a case, a court has heard.
Wealth management firm Colonial First State has lost its bid to shield emails with internal counsel about investment options for its FirstChoice super fund after a judge found a class action applicant had joint legal professional privilege.
Construction firm CIMIC has won its bid to view identifying information about institutional investors in a shareholder class action, despite the applicant’s claims it could deter group members from signing on to the case.
A shareholder class action against a2 Milk has won its bid to include claims under New Zealand law over the dairy company’s disclosures to the New Zealand stock exchange.