Five investment banks facing a class action for their alleged rigging of foreign exchange rates have slammed the “unclear” and “incredibly vague” case, saying it contains “literally trillions” of possible variations of the cartel agreement allegedly entered into.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has dropped its investigation into trading firm Select Vantage, which brought an unsuccessful $10 million defamation suit against the regulator.
AMP has settled legal proceedings brought by a former general counsel who claims she was sacked from the wealth management firm after raising concerns about its fees for no services conduct.
Pitcher Partners says the lead applicant in a discontinued class action over its auditing of Slater and Gordon should cover the costs for cross-claims it brought against nine parties, including the law firm and several of its former directors.
The Murray Goulburn class action run by Elliott Legal bears similarities to the Banksia class action, a case rife with scandal and offered up by opponents as proof of the problems with the class action regime. The leading lawyers were the same in both cases. In one they have abandoned any claim to their fees and have walked away from their careers. In the other they walked away with $5 million.
Former Macquarie Bank financial advisers who claimed their commission pay structure left them shortchanged have won their case for back pay for annual and personal leave, in the first decision in a group of cases against the wealth manager.
Investment whiz Michael Kodari has lost his appeal of a $151,000 judgment awarded in favour of his former bodyguard, who lost his job — and his company Maserati — after wanting to seek legal advice about a new employment contract.
A judge has ordered Australia and New Zealand Banking Group to pay $10 million in penalties after finding that the bank engaged in unconscionable conduct and breached its obligations by slugging customers $3 million in periodic payment fees it was not entitled to charge.
The former communications chief for IOOF claims she was terminated after revealing she suffered from a mental disability and sought a less stressful role.
Payday lenders Cigno and BHF Solutions are facing enforcement action by the corporate regulator alleging they breached the credit laws by lending to hundreds of thousands of consumers with a licence and charging $78 million in fees.