The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has initiated proceedings against Victorian electric utility Sumo Power for allegedly luring customers with the promise of discounts and low rates only to jack up their prices months later.
Receivers appointed in the wake of the collapse of Banksia Securities may seek costs orders against the estate of deceased funder and class action lawyer Mark Elliott, a court has heard. Meanwhile, the Victorian Bar says it has “every confidence in the judicial process” after senior counsel Norman O’Bryan yesterday abandoned his defence of misconduct allegations stemming from the case.
AFT Pharmaceuticals has suffered another blow over its Maxigesic advertisements, with a judge finding the marketing material misled consumers by claiming to provide better, faster and more effective pain relief than paracetamol or ibuprofen.
Former financial adviser Graeme Miller has been jailed for six years after pleading guilty to misappropriating $1.865 million in client funds in what a judge described as a “cruel and deceitful betrayal”.
Generic drug maker Sandoz has successfully appealed a $26.3 million judgment finding it infringed a patent owned by rival H Lundbeck relating to the top-selling antidepressant Lexapro.
Counselling app Lyf is suing smartphone maker Mintt for allegedly infringing on a trade mark it owns for the universal OK hand gesture, saying Mintt’s logo is substantially identical to Lyf’s registered mark.
Fundraising company Appco has reached a settlement to resolve a class action alleging it misclassified its army of sales people as independent contractors.
The law firm running an underpayments class action against petrol convenience store chain On The Run has been ordered to issue a notice correcting certain statements made on its website about the company and the class action, including that the claims in the case are worth up to $70 million.
Shareholder class actions protect shareholder value and promote long-term system changes, an Australian superannuation fund has told the government’s latest class action inquiry.
Barrister Norman O’Bryan SC has abandoned his defence of misconduct allegations stemming from the Banksia Securities class action and expressed contrition to the court for his actions.
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