A Federal Court judge has ordered Westpac to pay a $9.15 million penalty after one of its financial advisers breached the best interests duty by giving customers bad advice that resulted in millions in losses.
The applicants in a group of class actions over defective Takata airbags are pushing ahead with a challenge to the power of the NSW Supreme Court to issue class closure orders in the aftermath of a High Court decision shooting down common fund orders, a fight that could send the cases back to the High Court.
A US institutional investor can use hindsight evidence in its breach of contract case against a former ANZ Bank trustee over the winding up of failed defence tech firm Metal Storm.
Judges have no power to order all class action members to pay a proportion of a litigation funder’s commission out of their share of a settlement, the High Court has ruled in a landmark judgment that deals a huge defeat to litigation funders.
Liquidators of collapsed steel and mining company Arrium will challenge a ruling that gave shareholders the greenlight to question a former director to mount a possible class action, and have secured a limited stay of the judgment to lodge a notice of appeal.
The High Court is poised this week to issue its judgment in a case challenging the validity of common fund orders in class actions, a ruling that could see litigation funding commission rates creep back up after hitting record lows.
Woolworths is facing a class action alleging it underpaid workers to the tune of $620 million, more than double what the supermarket giant estimated when it disclosed the underpayments scandal last month.
An investigation into donations made to activist group GetUp! by the Australian Workers’ Union more than a decade ago has been closed down by a judge, who has also ordered the return of documents seized in high-profile raids of the union’s offices.
ASIC has successfully defended a $10 million defamation case brought by a Canadian trader, with a judge finding any loss experienced was due to his firm’s traders manipulating the market.
Shareholders of collapsed steel and mining giant Arrium have won the OK to question a one-time director over possible class action claims that former officers misled the market and that auditor KPMG was negligent in preparing a healthy financial report just two years before the company went under.