Perry Herzfeld

KPMG failed to bring the necessary scepticism to the task of auditing failing steel manufacturer Arrium, instead leaving contradictory evidence unresolved and giving the company a clean bill of health, a shareholder class action has told the court.

A shareholder class action against KPMG and ex-Arrium directors says the company's accounts were infected by "chronic and systemic overoptimism", with the former operator of Whyalla Steelworks portraying as viable a business that was impaired up to $2.8 billion.

The landlord of a Western Sydney commercial property has been awarded $328,000 in lost rent and outgoings after its former tenant, baked goods producer Allied Pinnacle, failed to repaint the external walls at the site.

NSW Police has argued the lead plaintiff in a class action over strip searches at music festivals should only receive $33,000 in damages rather than $93,000 and is challenging a finding that the strip searches were done “as a matter of routine”.

The eSafety Commissioner has struck back at Elon Musk-owned X Corp's claims that it should not have to comply with a new online safety standard when it is already subject to rules for social media companies.

A landlord has won its bid to have lost rent and outgoings assessed as part of damages it is owed after a judge found baked goods producer Allied Pinnacle was required to repaint the outside when its commercial lease at a Western Sydney property ended.

Parramatta City Council has prevailed in a fight with Transport for NSW over land compulsorily acquired for the state's light rail system, with a judge finding it held a registered interest in the land. 

Pacific Werribee shopping centre owner QIC says its misleading conduct case against co-owner Wadren and consulting firm KPMG is viable even in the absence of a defects finding in a related case against Probuild.

A judge has awarded private equity firm CPE Capital, formerly CHAMP, $96 million in a dispute over a profit sharing agreement that was part of a deal to provide $150 million in vendor finance to FX Group Holdings for shares in trading platform Pepperstone.

The High Court has overturned a longstanding precedent that churches are not liable for the intentional criminal acts of its clergy, in a decision that plaintiff firms have said will have a “significant impact” on survivor claims in Australia.