A judge who previously acted for a United Petroleum Group company in a “highly acrimonious” case eight years ago has refused to recuse herself from adjudicating a new dispute involving a related company.
In reasons for approving a $41 million deal to settle one of three shareholder class actions over Slater & Gordon’s acquisition of a UK firm and awarding the funder 28 per cent, a judge has challenged a persistent notion that the interests of litigation funders and group members are at odds.
A judge has approved a $450,000 penalty against Australian Mines in ASIC proceedings brought after its managing director was allegedly caught lying at an investment conference about the value of an offtake agreement and funding for a project at its cobalt and nickel mine in Queensland.
Former president of the Melbourne Football Club and Clayton Utz veteran Glen Bartlett has lost a bid to keep his defamation case against four MFC board members in Western Australia, with a judge finding the “relevant characters overwhelmingly continue to live in Melbourne.”
Sportsbet has won an injunction preventing the owner of the sportsbet.com domain from prosecuting an action in the US, which a judge said sought to interfere with an Australian domain name battle “in the most stark fashion.”
Hospitality giant Mantle Group has been found to have systematically ripped off employees and could face a federal police investigation for giving misleading evidence to the workplace umpire.
After initial qualms, a judge has signed off on a $29.5 million settlement in a class action against recycling company Sims that includes a “staggering” $8.5 million in legal costs and an insurance policy buffering the funder from adverse costs.
Hitting back at ASIC’s claims it misled investors and breached disclosure rules, technology company Nuix says it had no knowledge it was failing to meet its FY21 forecast and didn’t need to disclose to investors draft documents showing missed internal targets.
A judge has vacated an upcoming trial in shareholder class actions against former Quintis director Frank Wilson and Ernst & Young, after learning judgment in similar ASIC proceedings against Wilson will not be delivered before the class action hearing kicks off.
A prospective CSIRO executive has filed an employment suit against the government agency, alleging it breached her contract by firing her before she started, citing “stakeholder feedback”.