Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Rich[1] was one of the biggest civil cases in NSW Supreme Court history, in which the Australian Securities and Investments Commission accused former executive directors of One.Tel telecommunications company, Jodee Rich and Mark Silbermann, of having failed to meet their duty of care in the months leading up to the company's collapse in May 2001.

[3] One.Tel was a service provider of GSM mobile and long-distance calls formed by Rich (with James Packer as a shareholder) in Australia in 1995.

One.Tel expanded its operations overseas in 1998 and in 1999, Packer's Publishing and Broadcasting and News Corporation made a $600 million investment in the business as it committed to building Australia's fourth mobile network.

In May 2001, Packer and Murdoch's PBL and News Corporation withdrew their earlier stated support for an underwritten rights issue, the Telco then collapsed.

However, former One.Tel auditor and Ernst and Young chairman Brian Long who was responsible for this report, had parts of his evidence rejected by Justice Robert Austin.

[5] It was found that the Rights issue and the continued assistance of the major shareholders would have been enough to support One.Tel until November 2001, by which time the company's businesses would have been generating a healthy group cash flow.

[6] One.Tel ceased operation in Australia in June 2001 and in the same month, ASIC obtained criminal warrants and raids the One.Tel executive directors' houses.

ASIC were unable to find minutes of the Commissioners (3 December 2001) meeting where the decision was made to launch proceedings against the defendants.

As a result, John Greaves, One.Tel chairman and Brad Keeling, the joint managing Director, were unable to fund their defense.

In 2003, the NSW Supreme Court handed down a decision which recognises that under certain circumstances, the chairman of the board holds special responsibilities above those of the non-executive directors.

[28] On 24 August 2010, it was announced that James Packer and Lachlan Murdoch would be sued for $244 million plus damages by Liquidator Paul Weston, who filed a claim in May 2007 but only activated it in 2010.