The judge hearing the ACCC’s price-fixing case against Downer EDI’s Spotless and Ventia has proposed an initial hearing to determine if the companies are in competition, saying he won’t let the case become “totally unwieldy”.
In explaining where CBA shareholders went wrong in proving damages from the bank’s omissions over an AUSTRAC probe, the Full Federal Court has given class action plaintiffs the clearest indication yet of how they might win.
A judge has refused a bid for more money to distribute a $5 million settlement in a class action against Tyro and has barred the scheme administrator from resigning without the court’s leave, after he threatened to quit.
In the ACCC’s price-fixing case, infrastructure services company Ventia has joined with Spotless in arguing the companies were not in competition, and says it was the Department of Defence that arranged for the providers to talk.
The failure of two class actions to prove loss linked to the Commonwealth Bank’s disclosure breaches was not the fault of the bank, an appeals court has held in dealing the latest blow to shareholder group proceedings.
Two class actions against Commonwealth Bank have partially succeeded on appeal, with a finding that the bank breached its continuous disclosure obligations, but damages still elude shareholders.
Downer EDI subsidiary Spotless has rejected allegations it engaged in price-fixing with Ventia on defence contracts, saying the facilities services companies were not in competition with each other.
In a loss for the ACCC, the High Court has found builder J Hutchinson did not arrive at an anti-competitive understanding with the CFMEU merely by yielding to a threat of industrial action.
CBA has attacked two failed class actions’ “misguided” appeal, arguing that requiring companies to disclose incomplete information to shareholders would distort the market.
The Full Court has heard that a judge’s finding on materiality in two failed shareholder class actions against CBA could have “troubling” repercussions for insider trading cases and must be overturned.