ACCC flags competition concerns with Aurizon acquisition of Flinders Logistics

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The consumer regulator has flagged concerns over national freight company Aurizon’s proposed acquisition of stevedoring and logistics business Flinders Logistics, saying the deal could incentivise Aurizon to block other rail haulage providers from accessing a key berth in Port Adelaide.

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Champagne growers drop trade mark challenge on eve of trial

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The French association representing wine producers from Champagne has discontinued its lawsuit against an Australian retailer after it agreed to only use seed extract from the Champagne region of France. 

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Contingency fee ruling may face serious scrutiny in a High Court challenge, experts say

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Although carefully reasoned, last week’s landmark judgment by the Full Federal Court finding power to grant contingency fees to class action solicitors has placed the question of statutory authority to award settlement common fund orders on more unsteady ground than before, experts say.

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ICAC commissioner resigns, saying criticisms ‘have fallen on deaf ears’

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The commissioner of South Australia’s ICAC has stepped down for “mostly professional” reasons, saying her criticisms of 2021 reforms that limited the commission’s power to crack down on public corruption “have fallen on deaf ears”.

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Fortescue’s private investigators trailed trips to Kmart while spying on ex-employees, court told

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Metal mining company Fortescue hired private investigators to spy on former employees who created green iron start-up Element Zero, sifting through their mail, taking photos of their children and following them to Kmart, a court has heard. 

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Group members to get $34.7M in ANZ class action over credit card interest

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Group members in a class action against ANZ over credit card interest charges that settled for $57.5 million are expected to take home at least 60 per cent of the settlement sum after legal fees and a funder’s commission are deducted.

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In first, court finds non-bank lender Firstmac breached DDO obligations

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In a win for ASIC, the Federal Court has found that non-bank lender Firstmac Limited breached the design and distribution obligations, introduced in 2021, by marketing a managed investment scheme that could be unsuitable for customers’ financial needs. 

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HWL Ebsworth, ex-partner file competing appeals over expulsion finding

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HWL Ebsworth and a former capital partner have both appealed a ruling that found the partner was invalidly expelled in 2020 but that his partnership had been dissolved from the day he sued his former firm. 

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BlueScope’s circumstantial evidence falls short in unfair dismissal case

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The Fair Work Commission has ruled that an electrician with BlueScope Steel was unfairly dismissed following a complaint by a coworker who did not give evidence to the commission, finding that it was “abundantly unfair” for the complaint to be advanced as hearsay evidence.

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Judge won’t throw out claims in dispute over crypto trading company

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A judge has declined to toss most of the claims brought against a crypto trading company by a former director, despite finding the director’s case “is not an easy one”.

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