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AFT Pharmaceuticals:  Court of Appeal – rejected claims of misuse of corporate opportunity / breach of fiduciary duties

I have been picking at the Court of Appeal decision in PBL Solutions Ltd v AFT Pharmaceuticals Ltd which was delivered in March but which was initially hard to get hold of.  The case dealt with a shareholder dispute relating to claims of misuse of corporate opportunity and breach of fiduciary duties. Central to the

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MBIE consultation:  Capital Markets Regulatory Reforms Phase Two

Yesterday, the Commerce Minister announced consultation on the government’s second phase of capital market reforms, focusing on issues such as director and issuer liability.  The minister’s announcement referred to concerns about the lack of depth in our capital markets with the result that the cost of capital is too high meaning that many businesses need

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QEX Logistics Limited financial reporting lapses lead to management ban (and fines)

As possibly the last shoe to fall as a result of the demise of former NZX -listed company QEX Logistics Limited, QEX along with Jingjie Xue – who was its founder, director and CEO have been ordered to pay civil penalties $875k and $175k respectively.  Mr Xue has also been banned as a director of

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Nuix decision:  More lessons about continuous disclosure from across the Ditch

An Australian Federal Court decision at the end of April, involving ASX Listed software business Nuix Limited, provides more lessons about the practical application of continuous disclosure obligations and earnings guidance. It also appears to provide some vital points of difference with some of the (frankly alarming) connotations of the decision in round 3 of

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Termination for repeated late payment – be careful what you wish for

A recent, high profile, judgment from the UK’s top court has wider application than just standard-form contracts such as those that are a feature of the construction industry. Central to the decision in Providence Building Services Limited v Hexagon Housing Association Limited (2026) was the termination mechanism in a standard form (UK) construction industry contract.

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Companies (Address Information) Amendment Bill – passed

A private member’s bill providing a stopgap measure which allows directors to use an alternative address, and not their home address, on the Companies Register was passed last night. The stopgap measure in the Companies (Address Information) Amendment Bill seems destined to be replaced by a (full) director identification number, similar to that used in

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Directors’ duties (diversion of corporate opportunity) – Drylandcarbon decision

Last month, Radich J delivered a very long decision in what was obviously a keenly contested dispute affecting the Drylandcarbon joint venture. Ultimately, the judgment applies a number of well-known and long-established principles relating to the diversion (by a director) of a corporate opportunity for their own personal benefit.  But the background to this case

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Watered down disclosure for climate reporting entities

Branded as ‘commonsense changes’, the Government announced yesterday that it will make significant changes to the disclosure regime for climate reporting entities.  As a result, some commentators have said that this will reduce the number of climate reporting entities by two-thirds, from approx. 164 to 76. The press statement from the Minister of Commerce and

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