LAW – AUSTRALIA – CASES

Tabcorp’s new charges from money-laundering cop

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 21-Apr-16

Tabcorp has allegedly breached the anti-money laundering rules. The Australian Transaction Reports & Analysis Centre (Austrac) alleges that the wagering group failed to notify the regulator of more than 30 TAB accounts being opened by criminals using false names to launder funds generated through fraudulent credit card transactions. The Federal Court was due to hear the case in September 2016, but the hearing has been postponed until 6 June 2017.

CORPORATES
TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, TAB LIMITED, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX

Pay order spells ‘ruin’ for truckies

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 8-Apr-16

Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Tony Sheldon has welcomed a court ruling on new pay rates for owner-drivers in the trucking industry. He argues the new pay regime will improve industry safety. He has also urged the Australian Government and trucking industry bodies to support the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, which proposed the new pay rates. However, there are concerns that many owner-drivers will be forced out of the industry and that the cost of transporting goods by road will rise.

CORPORATES
TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIA. ROAD SAFETY REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN

Westpac accused of fixing market

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 6-Apr-16

Westpac may face financial penalties of up to $A18m if allegations that it attempted to manipulate the bank bill swap rate are proven. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s statement of claim identifies 16 separate occasions on which the banking major is said to have engaged in such activity. The ANZ Bank is already subject to legal action by ASIC for manipulating the bank bill swap rate, while the Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank are being investigated.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Streaming ‘a plague’ on regions

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Gina Rushton
The Australian – Page: 20 : 6-Apr-16

Court proceedings on 5 April 2016 in the legal dispute between Nine Entertainment Company and regional affiliate WIN Corporation centred on the definition of "broadcast". WIN’s barrister, Tony Bannon, argued that the term includes live streaming as well as traditional TV broadcasts. WIN is seeking to have Nine barred from streaming its TV channels into regional markets, in order to protect its own advertising revenue.

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN

Judge slams CFMEU’s ‘thuggery’

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 10-Mar-16

Federal Circuit Court judge Salvatore Vasta has imposed a penalty of $A9,000 on union official Scott Vink. The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union must pay $A48,000. Justice Vasta said that Vink’s behaviour towards non-union members was "sheer thuggery". Vink was found to have breached the Fair Work Act when he verbally abused non-CFMEU members on a building site in Brisbane on 5 March 2014.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, FAIR WORK BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION, FRANKIPILE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Expert called upon to settle REA, Domain fight

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Jefferson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 9-Mar-16

The legal dispute between Australian-listed REA Group and Fairfax Media-owned Domain will return to court on 21 March 2016, after the case was adjourned on 8 March. The case centres on allegations by REA that an advertising campaign by Domain was misleading and deceptive, by claiming that it boasts the nation’s leading property app. Justice Bernard Murphy proposed that the two parties hire an independent expert to determine which property app has the most listings.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Fairfax accused of misleading app claims

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Jefferson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 8-Mar-16

Australian-listed REA Group has alleged in the Federal Court that an advertising campaign by property listings rival Domain was misleading and deceptive. The legal action centres on ads that were published by Domain owner Fairfax Media in its newspapers in February 2016. The ads claimed that the Domain app is more widely used than REA’s realestate.com.au app and has a higher user rating on Apple’s app store. REA has disputed these claims.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL (CANADA)

ASIC targets more banks over rates

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers, Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 7-Mar-16

Law firm Maurice Blackburn is examining the potential for a class action against the ANZ Bank over allegations of misconduct in setting the bank bill swap. Meanwhile, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission may broaden its legal case to include the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank. ASIC launched legal action against ANZ after the bank refused to admit liability, which has thwarted attempts to reach a settlement.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, WESTERN SYDNEY UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Tatts in $540m court shock

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 3-Mar-16

Shares in Tatts Group shed 4.35 per cent to close at $A3.74 on 2 March 2016, after the High Court ruled in the Victorian Government’s favour in a dispute over the termination of the company’s poker machine licence. The court ordered Tatts to repay a total of $A540m which it had been awarded as compensation by a previous court ruling in 2014. The latest judgment has prompted speculation that Tatts could seek to revive merger talks with rival Tabcorp, although Tatts CEO Robert Cooke recently said this is not on the agenda.

CORPORATES
TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, UBET

Roadshow, Foxtel in battle against piracy

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 19-Feb-16

Australian-listed Village Roadshow and a group of Hollywood studios want local ISPs to block access to a file-sharing website called SolarMovie. They will pursue action in the Federal Court under the Copyright Amendment (online infringement) Act. Pay-TV group Foxtel is also relying on the statute in a bid to block access to websites that allow people to download pirated copies of its TV shows.

CORPORATES
VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, DISNEY STUDIOS, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WARNER BROS, PARAMOUNT STUDIOS, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, DODO INTERNET PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SCREEN PRODUCERS AUSTRALIA, COMMUNICATIONS ALLIANCE LIMITED