An investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has come under fire by the banks and directors targeted in a criminal case over alleged cartel conduct that claim the regulator “contaminated” key evidence and improperly used material supplied by ASIC.
Lawyers for former Citigroup executive Stephen Roberts have complained that prosecutors have failed to provide a “shred of material” to explain his alleged involvement in a criminal cartel relating to ANZ’s $2.5 billion capital raising, as the defendants fight to grill Crown witnesses before trial.
Three syndicates of Lloyd’s London have failed in their bid to toss a case brought by National Australia Bank seeking £357 million ($655 million) in insurance claims relating to two consumer redress schemes in the UK.
Expect increasing emphasis by judges on how much class action members will pocket, as scrutiny of settlements in representative proceedings continues to ramp up, says King & Wood Mallesons in the law firm’s latest class action report.
The prudential regulator is standing by its decision to bring proceedings against IOOF for alleged breaches of superannuation duties, despite criticism that such a “highly litigious regulatory environment” is placing immense pressure on financial services executives.
APRA’s purely documentary case against troubled fund manager IOOF has been dismissed by the Federal Court as “unpersuasive”, “fundamentally inadequate” and “tenuous in the extreme”, in another major blow to financial services regulators pursuing action in the wake of the banking royal commission.
Five IOOF executives will learn their fate this week when a judge rules on a disqualification bid by the prudential regulator, the first judgment to be delivered by a court in a case filed in the wake of last year’s scandal-airing banking royal commission.
A judge has approved a common fund application in a class action against two IAG entities over add-on insurance said to be worth up to $1 billion, saying it was only fair to make all group members pay to fund the litigation.
The Queensland Supreme Court has upheld the legality of litigation funding agreements in a landmark class action judgment that could have a ripple effect across other states in Australia.
German-based 3A Composites has issued an ultimatum in the high-stakes combustible cladding class action against it, saying it will try to shut down the matter as a representative proceeding if group member registration and opt out are not initiated.