Business of Law
Defamation lawyer who defeated Roberts-Smith case among 23 new silks in NSW
Twenty-three barristers in NSW have joined the silk ranks, including a leading defamation lawyer who was on the Fairfax legal team that defeated accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith's defamation suit.
Class Actions
CBA unit to pay $119.5M to settle consumer class action
Commonwealth Bank's New Zealand unit, ASB Bank, has agreed to pay $119.35 million to settle a class action alleging it failed to repay fees and interest wrongly charged to 150,000 customers who took out home or personal loans.
Intellectual Property
‘Argumentative and amorphous’: Startup attacks Fortescue’s call for seized docs in trade secrets row
Green iron startup Element Zero is challenging a bid by Fortescue for access to nine million seized documents in their trade secrets spat, saying its rival has not met the test for proving inadequate discovery of material.
Tax
ATO officer lied, tampered with evidence, judge says in staying fraud case
A judge has ordered federal prosecutors to drop a criminal tax fraud case against a medical researcher, finding an ATO officer lied and tampered with evidence during the probe.
Securities
ASIC approves Cboe’s application to compete with ASX for IPOs
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has approved Cboe’s application to list companies on its platform, in direct competition with market operators, including the Australian Securities Exchange.
White Collar
Man sentenced for insider trading ahead of $20M Cann Group share placement
A Victorian man has pleaded guilty and been sentenced for trading on insider information ahead of the public announcement of a $20 million share placement for medical cannabis company Cann Group.
ASIC
ASIC says 15 auditors likely did not comply with independence rules
A recent review by ASIC found 15 auditors of different sizes failed to demonstrate compliance with independence and conflict of interest obligations.
Class Actions
Judge questions claim Banksia receiver ‘went along’ with class action settlement
A judge has questioned whether an investor in failed Banksia Securities can bring a case against a court-appointed receiver over his support for a class action settlement later found to involve deception by a team of lawyers.
Competition & Consumer Protection
Telstra hit with $18M penalty in ACCC case over Belong speeds
Telstra has been ordered to pay $18 million in ACCC proceedings, after a court found the telco misled thousands of broadband customers about the speed of its budget internet provider Belong.
Class Actions
Another engineering firm faces claims in Hunter Valley crash class action
Another company is being pulled into a class action over a fatal bus crash in NSW's Hunter Valley, with infrastructure consulting firm AECOM planning a cross-claim against engineering firm GHD Australia.
