Nine-owned Fairfax Media has been sent back to the drawing board to redo what a judge called a “very unhelpful” defence to a defamation lawsuit brought by venture capitalist Elaine Stead over articles that appeared in the Australian Financial Review about her role in the collapse of fund manager Blue Sky Alternative Investments.
Vodafone has won its case against the ACCC over its proposed merger with rival telecommunications company TPG, with a judge ruling the tie-up would not substantially lessen competition and had a real chance of becoming a “competitive force” against the two dominant players in the market, Telstra and Optus.
During another day of cross-examination in a criminal cartel case against ANZ and two investment banks, a key ACCC officer was accused of lying about his interrogation of a key cartel witness, with the officer insisting there was nothing “sinister” in his examination.
The funder behind a class action against Westpac over allegedly excessive insurance premiums has confirmed that it will continue backing the case despite earlier concerns it may pull out in the wake of the High Court’s landmark ruling on common fund orders.
AMP will face a class action alleging its financial representatives pushed AMP inflated insurance policies onto 100,000 customers despite knowing that better policies could be found through other providers.
Six of Australia’s biggest financial services institutions have so far paid or offered $749.7 million in compensation to hundreds of thousands of customers who were provided with non compliant financial advice or charged fees for no service, but the refunds to date are just the tip of the iceberg.
An ACCC investigator has come under fire from ANZ as the bank seeks to shoot holes in the criminal cartel action against it, with counsel for the bank accusing the regulator of “infecting” witness statements and erasing testimony that weakened its case.
A judge has sentenced the founder of defunct whitegoods distributor Kleenmaid to nine years in prison for his role in a $13 million fraud against Westpac, saying it would be “obnoxious and naive” to consider his crimes victimless.
A key officer from the ACCC involved in interviewing JPMorgan bankers during a cartel investigation that led to criminal charges against ANZ and two investment banks has denied allegations that he acted improperly during the investigation.
ANZ has won access to documents the bank claims are crucial to its defence in a high stakes criminal cartel case, but the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has flagged a possible appeal of the ruling.