Nicholas Walter

A court has struck out claims in a case by companies of a former Villawood Management shareholder that alleges he was sidelined by co-owners of the property development group, but the companies have been given the OK to amend the case.

The former director of Villawood has appealed a ruling allowing the developer to share documents with the federal police produced in litigation with him.

A Victoria Supreme Court judge has ordered the transfer of two cases over pre-emptive rights in a land development unit trust to the Federal Court, to be heard alongside a case by property developer Villawood.

Developer Villawood can share documents produced in litigation against its former director with federal police, after persuading a judge the public interest in investigating possible crimes outweighed the interest in confidentiality.

Electronics retailer Harvey Norman and consumer lender Latitude Finance have been socked with a total of $55 million in penalties for a misleading ad campaign seen by millions of Australians.

A law firm that was set to argue that two firms formed an anti-competitive agreement in cooperating to run an ad tech class action against Google has dropped its appeal of its failed bid to run the representative case.

Harvey Norman says it should be fined no more than $24 million for running misleading ads, urging a court not to punish it for "intemperate" remarks its founder made in the media about the legal system.

Piper Alderman claims a judge erred in finding there was no evidence that an agreement between Maurice Blackburn and Phi Finney McDonald to cooperate in running an ad tech class action against Google was struck for an anti-competitive purpose.

The Full Federal Court has tossed Latitude Finance and Harvey Norman's appeal of a ruling that found the retailer's ads touting 'interest free' payment methods were misleading. 

A judge that granted carriage of a Google ad tech class action to Maurice Blackburn and Phi Finney McDonald has reiterated concerns that such cooperative arrangements between firms could breach competition law.