Contracts

Doomed iron and steel giant Arrium attempted to stave off its inevitable $2.8 billion collapse and put off negotiating with its lenders until the last minute despite warnings from its legal and financial advisors, liquidators for the company told the court.

A court has found national delivery company Megasave Couriers misled franchisees with false promises of guaranteed minimum weekly payments and annual income.

A partner who hit Deloitte with a $3.8 million age discrimination lawsuit says the accounting giant has been treating him as an "inactive partner" who is on the verge of retiring, including by failing to conduct a performance assessment for the 2021 financial year.

Clive Palmer's Mineralogy has lost its bid to make Sino Iron and Korean Steel cough up over $529 million for mine site remediation in Western Australia, after the mining company argued the terms of their contracts required an immediate lump sum payment.

Directors of steel producer Arrium continued to borrow money from "vulnerable" lenders in the months prior to the company's $2.8 billion collapse and "bled cash" despite the inevitable end, a number of lenders have said on the first day of a 40-day trial in the NSW Supreme Court.

ASIC has launched court proceedings against National Australia Bank accusing the bank of engaging in unconscionable conduct by charging more than $365,000 in fees to which it was not contractually entitled.

Pharmacy giant Priceline is the target of an "imminent" class action, with a group of dissatisfied franchisees accusing the company of exercising an "overly prescriptive" level of control over its franchises and fettering profitability.

Two Clive Palmer companies have again been blocked from accessing documents held by two law firms and a litigation funder to pursue a potential lawsuit against Queensland Nickel, with an appeal court dismissing the bid as "unmeritorious".

IT giant Hewlett-Packard Australia has lost its appeal of a judgment requiring it to cough up $370,000 in unpaid commissions to a former sales executive after a court found the company was not entitled to retrospectively cap her incentive payments 'at whim'.

A Federal Court judge overseeing two franchisee class actions against 7-Eleven has heard a landmark application for pre-trial oral discovery that could create another tool for lawyers to source evidence otherwise blocked by confidentiality agreements.