Andreas is a dispute resolution lawyer specialising in complex, high-stakes litigation and investigations across a range of jurisdictions and a variety of industries, as well as in class action litigation, acting for both plaintiffs and defendants.
High stakes matters he has acted in include acting for ASIC in landmark Federal Court proceedings against the ANZ Bank concerning the alleged rigging of the Bank Bill Swap Rate, acting for a US based company operating in the nutraceuticals industry in “bet the firm” litigation seeking to unwind share sale agreements and seeking $175 million in damages, and acting for the former CEO of Leighton Holdings Limited (now CIMIC Group Limited) in connection with AFP and ASIC investigations into alleged foreign bribery.
Andreas also has significant experience acting in class action litigation, including acting for the class of over 400,000 group members in proceedings against subsidiaries of Insurance Australia Group which resulted in the second highest class action settlement in 2020 of A$138m, and defending Merivale in class action proceedings alleging the underpayment of its workforce by a claimed $129m.
Because he acts for litigation funders, plaintiffs and defendants in class action litigation, he has significant insight into the strategies and tactics deployed by all stakeholders in class action disputes.
Clients describe Andreas as having “excellent legal analysis and strategy”, “incredible attention to detail and a keen sense of effective litigation strategy” and being “very calm and focussed”.
Acting for the Jeff Bezos backed technology company in Supreme Court of NSW proceedings commenced against the NSW Police Force concerning its purported termination of a $1.2 billion, 18 year contract to automate its legacy dispatch and forensics and evidence functions.
Acting for Lebanon’s largest bank in proceedings filed in the Supreme Court of South Australia seeking the transfer of millions of US dollars in the context of the long-running Lebanese financial crisis.
Acting for the US based technology and telecommunications company in expedited proceedings in the Supreme Court of Queensland concerning the supply of high-end wireless networks to the NYSE, NASDAQ and CBOE. The proceedings – which had at their heart market dominance for high-frequency trading in the “New Jersey Equity Triangle” – sought and obtained interim and final injunctions concerning the use of BSO Network’s confidential information and declarations of repudiatory conduct paving the way for a material damages claim.
Successfully acting for Vehicle Monitoring Systems in patent infringement proceedings against SARB Management Group Pty Ltd and the City of Melbourne in respect of VMS’s parking infringement technology.
Defending proceedings brought in the Supreme Court of NSW by a subsidiary of Oaktree Capital alleging breach of warranties and misleading conduct in connection with a Share Sale Agreement and claiming $91.6 million in damages.
Defending the holding company of the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal in Supreme Court of NSW (Commercial List) proceedings alleging the non-payment of approximately A$150m in dividends to preference shareholders.
Defending the leading data and analytics provider in copyright infringement proceedings filed by its competitor, Experian Australia, in respect of the “Mosaic” data set.
Acted for the corporate regulator in civil penalty proceedings brought against ANZ and other big four banks concerning the alleged rigging of the Bank Bill Swap Rate.
Acted for the California-based specialty pharmaceutical company in the successful defence, at first instance and on appeal, of a “bet the firm” claim seeking to unwind Metagenics’ key acquisition of the Australian business and seeking A$175 million in damages.
Defending the major shareholder of the Callide Coal Mine in shareholder oppression proceedings commenced in the Federal Court of Australia.
Acted for the liquidators of Octaviar Limited and Octaviar Administration Pty Ltd in Australia’s largest auditor negligence case against KPMG arising out of the collapse of the MFS/Octaviar Group.
Acting for the former CEO of Leighton Holdings Limited (now CIMIC Group Limited) in connection with ASIC and AFP investigations in relation to alleged foreign bribery.
Acting for the debt collection giant in in relation to the Federal Government’s high profile Royal Commission into the unlawful “Robodebt Scheme”, and which has resulted in over $1.7billion in financial benefits being paid to welfare recipients.
Defending the privately owned hospitality group in class action proceedings filed in the Federal Court of Australia alleging the underpayment of Merivale’s workforce in the order of a claimed $129m.
Defending BSA Limited in class action proceedings against the ASX listed company alleging “sham contracting” under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
Acting for Bruce James, the former Interim CEO of Australia’s oldest engineering company, in the defence of shareholder class action proceedings concerning an allegedly misleading prospectus raising A$100m in 2018, just prior to the company’s collapse. The class action settled on “walk-away” terms, a result practically unheard of in shareholder class action litigation.
Acting for the class of over 400,000 purchasers of “add-on insurance” products in class action proceedings against Insurance Australia Limited and Swann Insurance alleging misleading conduct in relation to the sale of those products. The class action settled on the eve of trial for A$138m, representing the second highest class action settlement in 2020.
Acting for global litigation funder Balance Legal Capital as the funder of the Toyota DCF Class Action, and in respect its proposed application for the first ever “Judgment Common Fund Order”.
The High Court has today handed down its landmark decision in WorkPac Pty Ltd v. Rossato & Ors, and overturned the Full Federal Court decision of May 2021 by finding that Mr Rossato was a casual...
On 10 November 2020, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia overturned orders made by Justice Lee which required the litigation funder to provide security for costs in two class actions...
By a 4:3 majority, the High Court of Australia has upheld the Full Federal Court’s decision regarding the actions of a storekeeper who provided a “book-up” credit service to indigenous residents in...