Companies

A court has granted a request from Grosvenor Litigation Services, the funder that backed two class actions against Volkswagen over its emissions cheating scandal, to suppress the details of a co-funding agreement with Vannin Capital.

Nine-owned Fairfax Media has been hit with a defamation lawsuit by Papua New Guinea's Minister of Trade & Commerce, who claims the Australian Financial Review engaged in a "smear campaign" by publishing an article accusing him of corruption, bribery and money laundering.

Westpac has admitted to millions of breaches of anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing laws, and has told a court it did not adequately monitor transactions of customers linked to child exploitation.

Supermarket giant Coles has been hit with a class action after revealing in February that it owes staff in its supermarket and liquor businesses at least $20 million in pay.

Medical device giant Johnson & Johnson has confirmed it will not seek the recusal of a Federal Court judge from a panel overseeing its pelvic mesh class action appeal, despite earlier raising concerns that he had seen privileged settlement communications.

War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith  has told a judge hearing defamation proceedings against several media companies over articles accusing him of war crimes that he can only be vindicated if he is allowed to give evidence in open court, as the Federal Government seeks to impose restrictions on the case due to national security concerns.

A judge has found that the High Court's landmark ruling last year blocking common fund orders in the early stages of a class action also barred them from being made at the conclusion of a proceeding, departing from several recent rulings on common fund orders.

A contest of two competing shareholder class actions against Westpac over millions of alleged anti-money laundering breaches has ended with one law firm and its funder bowing out.

A NSW Supreme Court decision refusing to put a Maurice Blackburn-led shareholder class action against AMP on ice pending a High Court challenge has been appealed by the lead applicant of a competing case.

A software company is suing a subsidiary of AMP for breach of contract after the financial services firm allegedly induced 11 employees to jump ship after licensing its online advisor platform.