Explaining his decision to reject a class action settlement that would have earned a law firm $1.75 million but provided nothing to 27,000 Woolworths employees, a judge has said the agreement created a conflict of interest between the solicitors and the workers they sought to set “adrift”.
A judge has ruled that the discontinuance of a class action doesn’t lift the suspension of the limitations period on group member claims, and a court order that the clock run again is needed to ensure companies don’t face potential litigation in perpetuity.
A class action on behalf of Drakes store managers claimed to be worth up to $20 million has settled for $2.2 million, and the law firm behind the proceedings wants a cut of up to $837,000.
A judge has denied an “invasive” bid to search hospitality giant Merivale’s payroll systems ahead of an upcoming mediation in a $129 million underpayment class action covering 13,500 employees.
Questions raised about the structure of a settlement of two wage class actions against supermarket chain Romeo’s don’t just threaten to reduce the law firm’s costs but could derail the whole agreement, a judge has said.
A judge has come down hard on a settlement in class actions against supermarket chain Romeo’s, saying group members had been kept in the dark and the costs to be paid to the plaintiffs’ firm did not add up.
A class action settlement with Woolworths which “troubled” a Federal Court judge has been abandoned, with the lead applicants resuming their bid to intervene in a parallel proceeding brought by the Fair Work Ombudsman against the supermarket giant.
A Federal Court judge has reconsidered her plan to dispense with a hearing to weigh a $1.55 million settlement of two class actions that allege supermarket chain Romeo’s underpaid hundreds of workers at stores in NSW and South Australia.
A judge overseeing two class actions against Romeo’s has ditched what has become the commonplace hearing in weighing a settlement of the cases, but experts say approval applications in group proceedings should ideally be heard in open court.
Clothing chain Cotton On Group and jeweller Lovisa are the latest targets of potential underpayments class actions for allegedly failing to pay employees for extra hours worked.