A court has dismissed an application for a common fund order in a class action against Westpac, saying the applicant in the Maurice Blackburn-led action had failed to sufficiently detail the case and had “shirked” its responsibility by launching the proceedings with a concise statement alone.
Labour hire company WorkPac has asked the court to dismiss an $84 million class action brought on behalf of thousands of casual mine workers alleging they were misclassified and denied annual leave and other entitlements.
A Melbourne-based restaurant and food truck operator selling “game-changing kebabs” has sued popular retailer Cotton On for allegedly infringing the copyright for the “Biggie Smalls” crown logo under which it markets its services.
Leading solar panel manufacturer Hanwha Q CELLS has filed a lawsuit against Norway-based solar energy company REC Solar for allegedly infringing its patented solar technology, less than two weeks after filing similar cases against China-based competitors JinkoSolar and LONGi Solar.
Banking giant Westpac has criticised Maurice Blackburn for rushing to file the first class action in the wake of the banking royal commission’s scathing final report, saying the self-appointed leading class action firm should know how to properly commence proceedings.
Fairfax Media will seek to use documents provided by the US Department of Justice to amend its defence in a defamation case brought by wealthy Chinese-Australian businessman Chau Chak Wing over articles that appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald linking him to an international bribery scandal.
Trader Daniel Schlaepfer and his firm Select Vantage are seeking over $10 million in damages from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in a defamation action against the corporate regulator, a court heard Thursday on the fourth day of trial in the case.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will not oppose the merger of two companies that own some of Australia’s largest intellectual property boutiques.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, facing cross-claims by credit ratings agency Fitch in a class action alleging it gave false or misleading double A and triple A ratings to synthetic CDOs backed by Sigma Financial, told investors Fitch’s withdrawal of Sigma’s credit rating prior to the collapse of the $27 billion investment fund was a “technical” issue, the bank has admitted.
A judge has ordered directors of collapsed mining company Termite Resources to pay $7 million in damages after finding they breached their duty by distributing more than $46 million to its parent company and failing to maintain a cash reserve of at least $10 million.