After defeating the corporate regulator’s case alleging it breached responsible lending laws, banking giant Westpac has won a reprieve from lodging a defence in a related class action.
A judge has sent insolvency firm Ferrier Hodgson back to the drawing board to redraft its pleadings against the former directors and auditors of collapsed construction company Forge Group, warning that the overlapping actions were at risk of becoming an “unrideable bull”.
Fairfax Media has challenged a judge’s “gravely serious” suggestion that one of its journalists lied about a confidential source, during the first day of a two-day appeal hearing over a $280,000 defamation judgment awarded to Chinese-Australian businessman Chau Chak Wing.
A judge has ordered ASIC and defence shipbuilder Austal to try to narrow the scope of documents at the centre of the regulator’s case challenging the company’s claims of legal professional privilege.
Insurance company Allianz Australia will need set aside an extra $250 million in capital until it strengthens its risk management, making it the fifth financial institution to be slapped with additional requirements by the prudential regulator.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is preparing to launch five ground-breaking court cases against internet behemoths Google and Facebook, the regulator’s chair, Rod Sims, said Tuesday.
AFT Pharmaceuticals has challenged a Federal Court decision that found its Maxisegic ads were misleading and deceptive, saying the judge “set the bar too high” by requiring it to prove there was an adequate scientific foundation for its painkiller representations.
Westpac has defeated a responsible lending case brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in relation to almost 262,000 home loans, with the Federal Court finding the corporate regulator misinterpreted the operation of national lending laws.
The plaintiffs in an investor class action brought against the insurers of Dick Smith have lost an early bid to determine the viability of their claim, amid concerns that the total value of five separate cases against the failed retailer will exhaust the $300 million limit of two insurance policies.
Indonesian airline Garuda has failed in its bid to stay a $19 million penalty for its role in a fuel surcharge cartel after telling the Federal Court it has debts of $480 million, with a judge saying he would be allowing the company to trade while insolvent if he granted the stay.