Ashurst Perkins Coie

KPMG failed to bring the necessary scepticism to the task of auditing failing steel manufacturer Arrium, instead leaving contradictory evidence unresolved and giving the company a clean bill of health, a shareholder class action has told the court.

A shareholder class action against KPMG and ex-Arrium directors says the company's accounts were infected by "chronic and systemic overoptimism", with the former operator of Whyalla Steelworks portraying as viable a business that was impaired up to $2.8 billion.

Ashurst Perkins Coie has brought on a recently promoted partner from Clayton Utz to grow its litigation practice.

As proof of its popularity as a class action jurisdiction, the Supreme Court of Victoria will hear opening submissions in three class action trials on Monday, an unprecedented number in a single day for the court.

People don't read terms and conditions when signing up to online services, an appeals court judge has told trading platform Plus500, which says the applicant in a class action is bound by an arbitration clause in its user contract.

Two Deloitte reports commissioned by a Swiss law firm for Credit Suisse are protected by legal professional privilege despite access given to financial regulators investigating the collapse of supply chain financier Greensill. 

REST Nominees has lost an injunction bid barring the sale of the Dexus bloc of shares in Melbourne Airport's operator pending an appeal, after refusing to give an undertaking that it foot the entire damages bill if its challenge fails.

Italian builder Webuild has lost its bid to permanently stay a SafeWork NSW prosecution over an 2022 incident while tunnelling for the Snowy Hydro expansion that allegedly gave rise to a risk of death or serious injury to two workers.

A judge won't force alternative banking provider Banking Circle Australia to continue providing services to fintech Bano, finding the platform faced a real risk of breaching anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws if the relationship continued.

Dexus' decision to resist an undertaking as part of a deal to temporarily block the compulsory sale of its shares in airport operator APAC has been criticised by a judge for resulting in an "appalling waste" of time and money.