Practices
Dispute Resolution 
Financial Services Elizabeth is a commercial litigation lawyer who specialises in corporate and commercial dispute resolution, with a particular focus on contractual and financial services disputes, corporations law (including directors’ duties and regulatory investigations), consumer law, equity and real property disputes. Elizabeth has represented both public and private companies in the Supreme Court and Federal Court, as well as at arbitration, across a range of industries including financial services, health, infrastructure, mining, technology and property. Elizabeth has been involved in a number of large-scale matters involving complex issues.
Experience
- Acting for the former CEO and CFO of Dick Smith in proceedings brought against them by NAB and HSBC alleging misleading and deceptive conduct in connection with the entry into and extension of finance facilities with Dick Smith.
- Acting for Hanes Group entities in defence of Federal Court proceedings brought against them by Wesfarmers for alleged breaches of warranties and misleading and deceptive conduct arising out of the sale of Hanes’ Workwear business to Wesfarmers.
- Acting for current and former directors of a listed company in responding to an ASIC investigation into alleged breaches of directors duties and market manipulation.
- Acting for the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) in a number of proceedings concerning AFCA’s contractual authority, jurisdiction or power to act upon and determine consumer complaints pursuant to AFCA’s dispute resolution process.
- Acting for a German auction house to recover proceeds of a fraud committed against it by an Australia resident, which included an urgent ex parte application for freezing orders over the fraudster’s bank accounts.
- Acting for two directors and the company secretary of Wollongong Coal Limited (WCL) in defence of a cross-claim brought by a previous director of WCL seeking equitable contribution in respect of any liability to WCL for alleged breaches director’s duties.
- Acting for an Australian bank to protect its confidential information, which involved obtaining an urgent ex parte injunction and search and seizure orders to gain access to a former employee’s devices for forensic examination.
- Acting for Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (REST) in proceedings brought against it in the Supreme Court of South Australia by Romeos Retail Group to recover superannuation contributions alleged to have been paid by mistake.
- Acting for a lessee in defence of proceedings brought by the lessor for possession on the basis of alleged breaches of the lease arising out of the fit-out and use of the premises.
- Acting for Rio Tinto Minerals Inc. in successfully defending ICC arbitration proceedings arising out of the sale of a subsidiary.
- Acting for Bellbird Ridge Pty Ltd (Johnson Property Group) in Supreme Court proceedings challenging the Office of State Revenue’s refusal to apply the primary production exemption of the State’s land tax legislation in relation to a parcel of land proposed for development.
- Acting for Calvary Health Care in Supreme Court proceedings arising out of lease finance agreements it had rescinded on grounds including the financier’s agent’s misleading conduct.
- Acting for Pittwater Radiology Partnership (now PRP Diagnostic Imaging Pty Ltd) in Supreme Court proceedings against a healthcare corporation concerning the operation of restraint clauses on the termination of their relationship.
Latest thinking
Investment Funds | 30 Nov 2023
Breaches by service providers: not always a trustee’s problem
A recent Federal Court case has important practical implications for those involved in the management and operation of funds.