The investor behind a failed class action against the Public Trustee of Queensland over the collapse of Octaviar Group has escaped a bid by the Trustee for maximum costs, with a judge ruling the case was not a “nakedly speculative venture” by the funder.
Accounting firm Pitcher Partners has been ordered to pay more than $5.6 million in damages for fraudulently concealing an amortisation error that caused a well-known bus operator to face higher than expected costs in a NSW transport tender.
Majority shareholders in MWL Financial have won court approval to bring a derivative suit against US-based Focus Financial Partners over an acquisition gone sour.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has not ruled out a challenge to a ruling that two Westpac subsidiaries didn’t provide personal financial advice as part of a campaign encouraging customers to roll over external superannuation accounts.
Debt collector ACM Group has been hit with a $750,000 fine for engaging in unconscionable conduct by misleading, harassing and coercing two vulnerable customers while chasing unpaid debts.
A barrister for two units of embattled wealth manager IOOF and three senior company executives facing claims by APRA have criticised the regulator for filing a broad concise statement and no statement of claim after a three-year investigation.
The lead applicant in a class action over the failure of Banksia Securities is on the hook for paying the legal costs of a class member who successfully challenged the funder’s cut of a $64 million settlement in the case.
Three former executives of failed Gold Coast finance company MFS Group have lost their challenge to a ruling that they misappropriated $147.5 million in funds prior to the company’s collapse.
The government has given the ACCC a $35 million shot in the arm to bring more criminal cartel cases and investigate anti-competitive conduct.
The High Court has granted special leave to mortgage aggregator Connective in a dispute between the firm’s founder and major shareholders over a transfer of one-third of the company’s shares, in a case that could clarify whether litigation should be considered a prohibited form of financial assistance under the Corporations Act.