Fairfax is facing a defamation lawsuit from the former head of franchise giant Retail Food Group, who alleges a series of articles in the Sydney Morning Herald implied he engaged in dishonest business practices, including stealing property from former INXS frontman Michael Hutchence and associating with the mafia.
A lingering dispute with the tax office remains, but the distribution of the record $795 million Black Saturday class actions settlement is substantially complete, according to a report out this week, and the proceedings, by the measure of at least one expert, show why the class action system in Australia is working.
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s two banknote subsidiaries pleaded guilty to foreign bribery charges in 2011 and paid fines of more than $21 million, it was revealed Wednesday after a seven-year suppression order was lifted.
A judge has taken a hatchet to Quinn Emanuel’s fees and the funder’s cut in a $12 million settlement of a class action against Bank of Queensland, a settlement which he previously described as one of the “worst” he’d ever seen.
Former Aussie Home Loan boss Stephen Porges has secured a temporary stay of a ruling that found he owed Adcock Private Equity more than $1 million for duping the firm into buying his worthless shares in a digital commerce startup.
A key prospective witness in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case who has accused the war hero of domestic violence has described “genuine fears” for her mental and physical health if her identity were made public.
Bannister Law has stepped down from leading a shareholder class action, the second major class action the firm has recently handed over to a rival firm without explanation.
A Dick Smith shareholder has lost his bid to bring a separate proceeding against the failed home goods retailer while two class actions are afoot.
Law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has launched a shareholder class action against engineering and infrastructure firm RCR Tomlinson after “catastrophic” losses caused by $57 million in write-downs on two of the company’s North Queensland solar farms.
Pacific National would not misuse its market power after taking control of an important rail terminal in Brisbane because that would be “irrational”, the Federal Court heard Monday at the start of a two-week trial in the competition watchdog’s case alleging the rail giant colluded with competitor Aurizon to become the dominant operator of key freight corridors.