A judge has shot down what he called a “risky” but novel proposal by 7-Eleven for a pre-trial ruling on sample objections to the relevance of evidence in two franchise class actions.
A junior solicitor’s meeting notes during an ASIC investigation of ANZ did not belong to her client despite the lawyer billing for her attendance at the meeting, law firm HWL Ebsworth has argued before a skeptical judge.
Courts have power to order oral discovery of potential witnesses ahead of trial, according to the judge overseeing two 7-Eleven class actions by franchisees, but the cases against the convenience store giant were not the occasion to exercise the power, he said.
A judge has ruled that a former ANZ trader who alleges he was fired after complaining about rate-rigging at the bank can amend his lawsuit after separate proceedings that accuse law firm HWL Ebsworth of withholding his client file are resolved, saying the HWL documents could contain a “golden nugget”.
The lead plaintiffs in two class actions against 7-Eleven have appealed a decision rejecting the very first Federal Court application for oral discovery, which would have seen four former employees bound by confidentiality agreements give evidence.
ANZ will fight to keep a sacked trader from accessing a client file held by HWL Ebsworth, citing privilege over the documents, a court has heard.
Pharmacy giant Priceline is the target of an “imminent” class action, with a group of dissatisfied franchisees accusing the company of exercising an “overly prescriptive” level of control over its franchises and fettering profitability.
A Federal Court judge overseeing two franchisee class actions against 7-Eleven has heard a landmark application for pre-trial oral discovery that could create another tool for lawyers to source evidence otherwise blocked by confidentiality agreements.
Collapsed gold producer Orinoco Gold could face a class action after a shareholder won access to a raft of company documents to investigate the prospect of a group proceeding to recover losses.
A judge has thrown out the portion of a lawsuit brought by an ANZ trader who was sacked in 2015 that was brought under enhanced whistleblower protections that took effect in 2019, saying the civil remedy provisions do not apply retrospectively.