Class Actions
Junior doctors class action settlement wins OK, without court hearing
A $175 million deal struck to resolve 30 class actions on behalf of junior doctors in Victoria has earned the approval of a judge, who took the unusual course of dispensing with a court hearing on the settlement.
Tax
Oracle wins stay of dispute with ATO over royalty tax
Software giant Oracle has won its bid to stay a $252 million fight with ATO over royalties, with the Full Federal Court finding the cases would not provide guidance in 15 other software disputes about the operation of the royalty tax.
Accounting
BDO points finger at Dubber CEO, solicitor in defence to $26M case
Auditor BDO has hit back at a negligence suit by Dubber over $26.6 million in alleged missing funds, making proportionate liability claims against the software company’s former CEO and external solicitor, who is said to have disbursed company funds “wrongly and in breach of trust”.
ASIC
Westpac agrees to $20M penalty in ASIC case against RAMS
A judge has raised concerns about whether an agreed-to $20 million penalty against Westpac's defunct home loan subsidiary RAMS is enough to deter other lenders from breaking credit rules.
Employment
Westpac employee told WFH ‘no substitute for childcare’
Westpac has lost a dispute with a part-time employee who asked to work from home to care for two young children and was told by a manager that “working from home is no substitution for childcare”.
Employment
Structural Monitoring Systems barred from removing CEO
ASX-traded Structural Monitoring Systems has been barred from sacking its CEO after he launched whistleblower proceedings against the aerospace company.
Competition & Consumer Protection
eToro settles with ASIC in novel suit over CFDs
The court will not get a chance to rule on the design and distribution obligations in the marketing of contracts for difference, after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission reached an agreement with eToro to resolve the first case of its kind.
Employment
Judge won’t recuse himself from harassment case over GoFundMe
A judge has refused to recuse himself from a sexual harassment case against the Western Australian Department of Justice after counsel for the department donated $500 to a GoFundMe for his brother-in-law.
Employment
JLL’s legal woes worsen with new suit by former CEO
The former CEO for JLL's Australian unit has sued the real estate firm after he was allegedly terminated following an investigation into a complaint against a manager.
Corporate
Ex-Keybridge CEO can’t bring derivative suit over ACM investment
Former Keybridge CEO Nicholas Bolton, who was voted out in a board spill earlier this year, has lost his bid to bring a derivative suit against director Frank Catalano over a failed bid to acquire a rural publisher previously owned by Nine.
