Former Quantum Resources CEO charged with insider trading

The former CEO and director of gold mining company Quantum Resources (now known as Nova Minerals (ASX: NVA) has been charged with insider trading offences. Avrohom Mordechai Kimelman of St Kilda East appeared in the Magistrates' Court of Victoria today charged with four counts of procuring the acquisition of shares in Quantum while in...

Dodo and iPrimus in court for allegedly misleading customers about NBN speeds

The Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has taken Dodo and iPrimus to court, alleging the two mislead customers about the internet speeds they could achieve on the NBN. The ACCC alleges that between March 2018 and April 2019, Dodo and iPrimus, two Internet service providers owned by Vocus Group (ASX: VOC), made false or m...

Watchdog sues CBA, Colonial First State alleging conflicted influence

Around 390,000 people signed up to a superannuation fund through the alleged influence of $22 million in conflicted remuneration from Colonial First State to the Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA), according to civil proceedings filed by the corporate watchdog. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) alleges the payment...

Historic legal challenge against Clive Palmer's Galilee Coal Project commences today

A group of young climate activists and rural land holders will take on Clive Palmer's Galilee Coal Project in the Queensland courts today, marking the first time a coal mine has been challenged on human rights grounds in Australia. Represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, the coalation Youth Verdict will argue the project op...

Piper Alderman launches shareholder class action over Dreamworld tragedy

Theme park operator Ardent Leisure (ASX: ALG) has announced to the market it was served with a shareholder class action yesterday in relation to the 2016 Dreamworld tragedy. After the market closed yesterday the Sydney-headquartered group reported the proceedings had been filed by law firm Piper Alderman in the Federal Court of Austr...

Class action alleges electricity giants fudged supply numbers for profit

Law firm Piper Alderman has launched a class action on behalf of all Queenslanders against two of the State's leading electricity giants. The action alleges Stanwell Corporation and CS Energy engaged in "bidding games" designed to artificially create scarcity of supply of electricity and to spike energy prices for their own ...

Victoria makes wage theft a criminal offence

Australia's wage underpayment saga has taken a new twist today in Victoria, where Parliament has established criminal penalties for employers who deliberately underpay or don't pay their workers. Those who are found guilty of these practices - including the withholding of superannuation or employee entitlements - could face u...

Animals Australia live export legal challenge fails in the Federal Court

Approximately 50,000 live sheep will be transported to the Middle East by ship after a legal challenge from Animals Australia failed to have an exemption overturned. Animal rights organisation Animals Australia launched Federal Court proceedings against the Department of Agriculture yesterday after an exemption was granted to export lives...

IPH to acquire NZ law firm Baldwins Intellectual Property

Australian intellectual property (IP) legal services giant IPH Limited (ASX: IPH) has reached an agreement to acquire New Zealand IP firm Baldwins Intellectual Property. The transaction will be completed by IPH's subsidiary AJ Park IP and will see IPH pay approximately $7.4 million for the NZ firm, including a deferred consideration o...

Wilson slams Catalano's "opportune" Keybridge share buy-back offer

Investor advocate group Wilson Asset Management Active (ASX: WAM) has come out swinging against Anthony Catalano and Keybridge Capital (ASX: KBC) after being served with a lawsuit on Monday. Earlier this week Keybridge, led by corporate raider Nicholas Bolton, commenced legal proceedings against WAM alleging the latter improperly acquired...

Live export ban exemption refused for livestock vessel Al Kuwait

The Australian Department of Agriculture has refused to grant an exception for Rural Export and Trading (WA) to export live sheep to the Middle East. The livestock vessel Al Kuwait, currently docked in Fremantle, has been unable to depart Australia before 1 June as planned after 19 crew members tested positive for COVID-19. As a resul...

Keybridge hits Wilson with lawsuit, Catalano offers to buy shares back at a premium

Investment firm Keybridge Capital (ASX: KBC), led by notorious corporate raider Nicholas Bolton, has launched legal proceedings against investor advocate group Wilson Asset Management Active (ASX: WAA) alleging the latter improperly acquired 16 million Keybridge shares. Keybridge's case is that WAM, led by founder Geoff Wilson, improp...

Class action launched over Boral's fumble in the US

Maurice Blackburn has lodged a class action in the Federal Court today against building materials supply company Boral (ASX: BLD). The class action law firm alleges Boral breached its continuous disclosure requirements and/or engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to its US business. In announcements on 5 December 2019 ...

Spotless settles class action for $95 million

Investors in Downer Group (ASX: DOW) subsidiary Spotless have reached a $95 million settlement of a class action against the facility services business today. The claim began when investors lost money after Spotless downgraded its FY16 Guidance on 2 December 2015. Class action law firm Slater and Gordon alleged Spotless had engaged in...

Slater & Gordon takes aim at airlines over disadvantageous travel voucher schemes

A class action is on the table for customers who have been strong-armed into accepting travel vouchers instead of refunds for travel plans disrupted by COVID-19. According to class action law firm Slater & Gordon there are thousands of Australians that have been short-changed by major airlines, travel agents and tour companies that im...

Maurice Blackburn serves Treasury Wine Estates with class action

Treasury Wine Estates (ASX: TWE) has been officially served with a second class action in the Supreme Court of Victoria today. The statement of claim filed by law firm Maurice Blackburn on behalf of shareholders includes allegations that the winemaker contravened continuous disclosure obligations under the Corporations Act and claims that...

Optus faces class action over major data breach

A class action expected to be brought by Maurice Blackburn against telco Optus will test Australia's privacy laws and seek to deliver compensation to 50,000 aggrieved customers. Maurice Blackburn alleges Optus breached the Privacy Act after personal details of customers, including home addresses and phone numbers, were published by th...

Mayfair 101 restrained from promoting debenture products

The Federal Court has restrained Mayfair 101 from promoting its debenture products and prohibited the company from using specific words and phrases in its advertising. The Australian company was taken to the Federal Court last week by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) after allegedly producing misleading and decep...

Mayfair 101 says ASIC action could derail Dunk Island redevelopment

The developer behind a $1.6 billion redevelopment of Dunk Island in Far North Queensland says recent legal action taken by the corporate watchdog could disrupt the project. In a statement to the media, Mayfair 101 says the Australian Securities and Investment Commission's (ASIC) legal action regarding alleged false or misleading onlin...

Mayfair 101 taken to court over allegedly misleading financial advertisements

An Australian investment group has been taken to the Federal Court by the corporate watchdog over allegedly misleading and deceptive online advertisements. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) alleges Mayfair 101, a property investor with a significant portfolio of land and tourism assets in North Queensland inc...

Slater & Gordon files class action against Treasury Wine Estates

Treasury Wine Estates (ASX: TWE) is now facing its second class action over a profit downgrade earlier this year when its earnings forecast was slashed by 10 percentage points. Following a similar action from Maurice Blackburn, law firm Slater & Gordon (ASX: SGH) alleges the information could have been uncorked earlier. &quot...

Cash Converters settles class action for $42.5 million

Nearly 70,000 Queensland Cash Converters customers will share in the spoils of a $42.5 million class action settlement. The Federal Court approved the settlement on Tuesday following a successful class action brought by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers that will benefit those affected by Cash Converters' alleged breach of credit laws. Ac...

Qantas to back pay millions of dollars to hundreds of staff

Listed airline Qantas (ASX: QAN) has signed a Court-Enforceable Undertaking (EU) with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) requiring it to repay staff for entitlements not paid. The EU is the result of an FWO investigation and could see hundreds of staff being back paid millions of dollars. The FWO investigation arose after Qantas self-repor...

$213m settlement ends "agonising wait" for PFAS contamination victims

A landmark $212.5 million settlement has delivered justice to thousands of victims of toxic firefighting equipment contamination across the country. As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, the federal Department of Defence settled a class action lawsuit on Monday, giving closure to victims of carcinogenic per- and poly-fluoroalkyl ...

ACCC will not appeal TPG-Vodafone merger decision

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has concluded it will not appeal the Federal Court's decision that approved the merger of two of Australia's largest telcos. In February the Federal Court ruled in favour of a $15 billion merger of TPG Telecom (ASX: TPM) and Vodafone, determining the merger would not reduce...

Shine launches class action against IOOF

Financial services provider IOOF (ASX: IFL) is facing its second class action over alleged corporate misconduct, this time from law firm Shine. Shine Lawyers alleges shareholders suffered losses as a result of non-disclosure by IOOF as well as potentially misleading and deceptive conduct affecting purchasers of IOOF shares. The allega...

Court gives green light to $15 billion TPG-Vodafone merger

Australia's competition watchdog laments the loss of a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" for mobile consumers, but the Federal Court sees TPG rolling out its own network as a lost cause and is in favour of establishing a viable contender through a merger to take on Telstra and Optus, even if it leads to greater market conc...

Rural Funds triumphs over short seller Bonitas in Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of New South Wales has handed down a judgement in favour of Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF), finding US-based short seller Bonitas made false and misleading statements. The proceedings, launched in September 2019, relate to a short selling report published by Bonitas in August of the same year which saw the shares in Rural ...

Shine prepares another class action against AMP

Financial planning firm AMP (ASX: AMP) is staring down the barrel of yet another class action. Shine Lawyers (ASX: SHJ) announced this morning that it was preparing to file its second class action against AMP, accusing the company of putting profits ahead of an estimated 100,000 clients. The law firm alleges AMP Financial Planning bre...

Kleenmaid founder sentenced to nine years imprisonment

Andrew Young, a former director and founder of whitegoods distributor Kleenmaid, has been sentenced to nine years in jail for offences arising from the company's collapse more than a decade ago. Young was found guilty of 20 breaches of the law by a jury for offences including fraud and insolvent trading after a 59-day trial. His n...