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 judgment in a heated carriage fight between three class actions against construction giant Boral provides some guidance to law firms about conduct that could potentially compromise their case for why they should be crowned the victor in a class action beauty parade.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has taken the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to court for slapping nearly 1 million customers with unauthorised monthly access fees totaling $55 million over a nine-year period.
Barristers and legal experts are calling on the new Attorney-General to actively commit to gender diversity when she begins to make appointments to the courts, as the federal government’s promise to put its decision making through a women’s “lens” raises hopes of more female judicial appointments to correct the imbalance on the bench.
The law firm running its class action on a no win no fee basis has been crowned the winner in a battle against two competing firms to lead a shareholder class action against construction giant Boral, in the first such judgment handed down in the wake of a High Court ruling on competing class actions.
The litigation funder that backed a dismissed employment class action against aviation service provider Airservices Australia has successfully argued that it should not bear the company’s costs of defending the case
Virgin Australia is facing legal action from the Transport Workers Union which says the airline was not experiencing the necessary work shortage when it stood down some of its ground crew staff after the federal government’s Jobkeeper wage subsidy came to an end over the weekend.
The Rolling Stones has successfully opposed registration of the ‘Jagger & Stone’ clothing trade mark in Australia, with a delegate finding the name was designed to “springboard” off the UK rock band’s worldwide fame.
A judge has refused to summarily dismiss proceedings by collapsed construction group JM Kelly against its former accountant, finding it was an issue for trial whether he caused the company to continue operating despite financial issues leading to its liquidation.
Banking giant ANZ, which is facing a class action over a flex commissions scheme by its former car finance business, has admitted that the calculation of car dealers’ commission was aimed at encouraging loans with interest above a “base rate”.