A judge has approved a notice in a class action against Westpac alerting group members that an “expense sharing order” will be sought by the applicants if or when the case settles, the first ruling of its kind since the High Court struck down common fund orders.
Sparke Helmore is equally responsible for a $76.6 million judgment against IOOF subsidiary Australian Executor Trustees over the sale of a timber plantation by collapsed forestry giant Gunns Group, an appeals court heard Thursday.
A judge has denied a bid by the applicant in a massive class action against ride-sharing giant Uber to amend the group definition to include successors and assignees of those with claims, saying the request was made too late and that it was not clear who exactly would be included in the new group.
Activist short seller Bonitas Research must pay Rural Funds Management almost $900,000 after the US-based Bonitas was found to have engaged in misleading or decpetive conduct in issuing a report describing the agricultural fund manager’s equity as “ultimately worthless”.
A judge has ordered that Joseph ‘Diamond Joe’ Gutnik’s Merlin Diamonds be wound up after the mining company’s provisional liquidators uncovered “serious contraventions” and a “serious failure of governance”.
Barristers for the ACCC and online retailer Kogan have been asked to robe up at home as the previously in-person trial shifts to videochat in response to the COVID-19 health crisis.
The Chief Justice of the Federal Court says a system is needed to ensure parties don’t interrupt one another during virtual hearings, and noted the increase in online hearings brought on by the coronavirus may also free judges up to hear cases outside their registries.
An appeals court has found that parties forced to conduct hearings via telephone or video conference in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic are not disadvantaged by the new arrangements, refusing to delay the appeal of a $2.5 billion contractual dispute concerning the Ichthys gas project in the Northern Territory until the parties can appear in person before the court.
Tasmanian state-owned ports company TasPorts has admitted to charging additional fees to the owner of a local port, but has denied the ACCC’s allegations that these actions constituted a misuse of market power designed to stymie competition.
Westpac is still locked in mediation with AUSTRAC over allegations that it committed over 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, with the bank’s hopes of moving to a penalty hearing in the early part of the year fading.