Corporate & Business Litigation

Litigation & Dispute Resolution
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We provide strategic advice and court representation to Boards, individual directors, and shareholders in relation to Corporations Act and general business matters such as:

  • Advice on directors’ duties and representation in Supreme Court litigation relating to claimed breaches of duties
  • Disputes between directors, and between shareholders and the board, relating to board composition and control, access to company books and records, provision of audited financial statements, and directors being locked out from management
  • Bringing and defending shareholder oppression claims
  • Disputes about shareholder meetings, such as whether meetings have been properly called and conducted, misleading and deceptive conduct in meeting notices, and disputes when directors refuse to call meetings
  • Claims relating to the purchase and sale of shares
  • Managed investment schemes and complaints concerning the conduct of (and removal of) responsible entities
  • Claims of misleading and deceptive conduct in relation to financial products
  • ASX disclosure, and shareholder claims against companies for misleading information or inadequate market disclosure

Our relevant experience includes:

  • Acted for a former director of a mining company in claims of breach of directors’ duties under sections 180 to 184 Corporations Act, relating to the surrender of tenements acquired by other entities
  • Acted on numerous occasions for plaintiff minority shareholders in Supreme Court proceedings claiming shareholders’ oppression under sections 232 and 233 Corporations Act
  • Acted for a defendant in Supreme Court injunction proceedings relating to alleged misleading and deceptive conduct in breach of section 1041H Corporations Act, in notices of investor meetings to remove the responsible entity of a winery managed investment scheme
  • Acted for defendants in a Victorian Federal Court action, where it was claimed the defendants had failed to disclose a substantial holding in a public listed gold mining company in breach of section 671B Corporations Act and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct, causing a board spill and loss of chance to convert a loan to equity
  • Acted for the plaintiff financier in a Supreme Court action for declaratory relief relating to the transfer of charged assets from the borrower to another entity, breach of directors’ duties for knowing assistance, and injunctive relief to restrain the disposal of assets
Williams + Hughes Earns Recertification in Meritas, the Leading Global Alliance of Independent Business Law Firms
Williams + Hughes is pleased to announce that it has been awarded recertification in Meritas, a global alliance of independent ...

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Meritas Welcomes DMAW Lawyers, Adelaide, to the Membership
Leading Adelaide commercial Firm, DMAW Lawyers has been selected to be South Australia’s representative firm for Meritas, the premier global ...

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Privacy policies and procedures: Australian businesses may have to comply with European GDPR laws
On Friday 25 May 2018 the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect, giving residents of the EU ...

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COVID-19: Temporary relief for financially distressed individuals, companies and directors
The Australian Federal Government has announced temporary amendments to insolvency and bankruptcy laws, effective from 25 March 2020, to lessen ...

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Covid 19- an overview of the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme
The core component of the Federal Government’s business support package in response to the Covid-19 pandemic is the JobKeeper scheme. ...

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Need a new will ? Witnessing wills during Covid-19 in Western Australia
In Western Australia for a Will to be valid: the Will must be in writing the person making the Will ...

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Covid-19 relief for commercial tenants in Western Australia
The State and Commonwealth Governments are in the process of enacting legislation to provide relief to commercial tenants affected by ...

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What tax risks do I take on when I become a company director? (updated)
This is a question often asked of lawyers. There are many risks a person is exposed to when they agree ...

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Clarifying the ability of trustees to expand their powers: the decision in Re Application of Country Road Services Pty Ltd
In this article (published in the December 2019 edition of the Law Society Brief magazine) Jonathan Haeusler, Special Counsel, and ...

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Superannuation guarantee amnesty: one last chance to pay compulsory superannuation for non-complying employers who employ “contractors”
Employee versus contractor? Are you sure? Over the past decade many Australian companies have retained the services of people who ...

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Disclose the full upfront price or risk breaking the law: new upfront pricing laws apply
It is not uncommon for businesses to advertise a headline price for goods and services to their customers, and to ...

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Modern slavery legislation: the clock is ticking for Australian companies to prepare their first Modern Slavery Statement
Modern slavery legislation has been enacted in Australia. Many larger companies are now legally obliged to prepare Modern Slavery Statements ...

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Vying for social media engagement: More risk than reward?
The importance of minute taking at Board meetings was recently highlighted by the Financial Services Royal Commission. The Governance Institute ...

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Board Spills – Getting the notice right
The interaction between section 249D and section 203D of the Corporations Act 2001. There has been a significant rise in ...

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THE ACCC CONTINUES ITS CRACK DOWN ON THE USE OF UNFAIR CONTRACT TERMS
Uber Eats agreed this week to amend its contracts with restaurants following an investigation by the ACCC. From at least ...

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Keeping your financials “off the record”: from 1 July 2019 fewer companies need to lodge their financial accounts with ASIC
Recent changes to the Corporations Act 2001 remove the need for many companies to lodge annual financial accounts with ASIC. ...

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Buying a power boat for the wife – not necessarily an unreasonable director related transaction, but only in the right circumstances
In 2013 a WA Supreme Court decision may have caught the attention of small company directors; it seemed using the ...

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The
Team

Digby Robinson

Principal
08 9481 2040
Tully Carmady

Principal
08 9481 2040
Dominique Engelter

Principal
08 9481 2040
Gavin Thai

Solicitor
+61 8 9481 2040
Chloe Szalai

Law Graduate
+61 9 481 2040
Yasmin McCann

Solicitor
+61 8 9481 2040

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