John Karantzis, the CEO of fintech company iSignthis, has launched defamation proceedings against Fairfax, targeting an Australian Financial Review article over the 900 per cent share price jump in Etherstack, a wireless radio tech company in which Karantzis owns shares.
Facebook’s argument that it can’t be sued by the privacy commissioner in Australia has fallen flat, with a judge rejecting the social media giant’s application to dismiss enforcement action brought in March over the disclosure of users’ personal data.
The Australian Securities and and Investments Commission has won a $57.5 million judgment against two units of National Australia Bank for making misleading representations to superannuation customers regarding $100 million in fees charged for services they never received, far short of the $125 million sought by the corporate regulator.
The High Court has rejected an appeal challenging a ruling that found a failed political candidate liable for defamatory responses made by readers of two Facebook posts he published that labelled a South Australian businessman greedy and selfish, but the court has left the door open to weigh in on the issue of secondary publication of social media comments.
Two casinos owned by Crown Resorts have been handed a Federal Court victory in their $100 million battle with the Australian Taxation Office, with a judge ruling that GST assessments made by the ATO were “excessive”.
The judge overseeing a class action against GetSwift has refused to disqualify himself from the proceedings, rejecting claims that he could not be seen to approach the case with an “impartial mind” and taking a passing shot at the logistics company’s use of the Americanism “recuse” in its application.
A high ranking executive from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia has warned that an increase in class actions could discourage Australia’s best corporate leaders from joining company boards.
A recent announcement by logistics tech provider GetSwift that it will be relocating to Canada has heightened concerns by the lawyers running a shareholder class action against the company that it might not be able to meet any orders for compensation to group members.
App stores have become the latest battleground in the the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s investigation into digital platforms, with the regulator promising to look at data sharing practices, pricing and competition between Google and Apple, the two biggest players in the market.
An appeals court has dealt with complex jurisdiction and limitations issues in transferring one of three class actions against ride sharing giant Uber to another court, with one of the judges saying legislative reforms were needed to deal with the issues.