The Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s insurance division, CommInsure, has been fined $700,000 for breaching insurance hawking laws in Australia’s first post-Royal Commission criminal conviction, dodging a maximum fine of over $1.8 million through an early guilty plea and cooperation with ASIC.
Accounting giant Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu will not face cross claims over the collapse of failed retailer Dick Smith when a hearing of three shareholder class actions kicks off in three months.
The litigation funder financing the second of two recently settled shareholder class actions against Murray Goulburn will face similar scrutiny over its commission as the funder behind the first action.
Infant food maker Bellamy’s has agreed to pay $49.7 million to settle two shareholder class actions alleging the company misled investors in 2016 about its China growth strategy and declining infant formula market share in Australia.
Former Wallabies player Israel Folau, who was sacked over homophobic social media posts, has increased the damages he is seeking in his unfair dismissal case against Rugby Australia, calling for $14 million in compensation as “Australia’s best player”.
Troubled retail technology firm Irexchange is accused of misleading shareholders through three different capital raising offers, according to a new Federal Court case brought by investors who sunk over $4.5 million into the company.
A local businessman and former local council member behind a dramatic change in Victoria’s trading hour laws has been sued for sexual harassment by a former employee who alleges he continued to contact her even after she expressed discomfort with him trying to touch her, allegedly telling her “we will work on that”.
An investigation into donations made to activist group GetUp! by the Australian Workers’ Union more than a decade ago has been closed down by a judge, who has also ordered the return of documents seized in high-profile raids of the union’s offices.
Dentons is standing by the legal advice it gave to Afterpay regarding its compliance with anti-money laundering laws, after an independent auditor found the buy now, pay later company received “incorrect” advice from top-tier Australian law firms.
ASIC has successfully defended a $10 million defamation case brought by a Canadian trader, with a judge finding any loss experienced was due to his firm’s traders manipulating the market.
For information on rights and reprints, contact subscriptions@lawyerly.com.au
