A judge has questioned an “unusual” bid by Noumi to shield over 3,000 documents, their titles and the identities of those who sent them to PricewaterhouseCoopers during a 2020 investigation into the food company’s financial position.
The applicants in a shareholder class action against the former Freedom Foods have failed in a bid to cross-examine Noumi’s inhouse counsel on affidavits swearing to the legal professional privilege of 3,000 documents, including material containing advice from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
A class action over the collapse of Walton Construction has argued the National Australia Bank cannot shield communications with Norton Rose Fulbright and Deloitte because they were made to further a fraud or otherwise had an illegal or improper purpose.
Ashurst has bolstered its Sydney tax practice with the addition of two senior taxation lawyers from Deloitte.
Deloitte has won its bid to keep confidential documents away from the funder backing a consolidated shareholder class against food company Noumi which alleges the auditor was complicit in misleading the market.
A former Deloitte director accused of embezzling $3.1 million to fund lavish purchases, including an extensive art collection, has been referred to police and suspended by an association for Australian restructuring professionals.
Deloitte and Noumi, formerly known as Freedom Foods, have pointed the finger at one another in a consolidated shareholder class action, with the accounting giant saying the food company made misleading representations in its financial reports and should be on the hook for its costs in defending the lawsuit.
A former Deloitte director accused of embezzling $3.1 million has agreed to court orders that he repay the money and hand over title to all assets — including almost 100 works of art — purchased with the alleged misappropriated funds.
Deloitte has secured a freezing order on the assets and bank accounts of a director accused of stealing funds from the consulting giant, in what a judge has described as an alleged “remarkable fraud”.
Another fight over privilege may be on the cards in a shareholder class action over the collapse of the Hastie Group, with Deloitte flagging its partners may claim privilege over certain parts of the accounting giant’s evidence.