It has been described as the darkest chapter in Victoria’s legal history, an exemplar of all that is terrible with class actions in Australia. A case of greedy lawyers who found their golden egg in a group of retirees who had lost their life savings, never thinking the chickens might come home to roost. Until now.
Insurers have largely succeeded in challenging COVID-19 business interruption losses claimed by a group of small businesses, in an important second test case that could save the industry billions of dollars.
Priceline faces a class action by a group of franchisees accusing the pharmacy giant of exercising an “overly prescriptive level of control” that limits their profitability.
Carnival has launched a challenge to last month’s court finding that overseas passengers could remain group members in a class action over the 2020 Ruby Princess COVID-19 outbreak.
Dairy company a2 Milk has denied liability to shareholders in a class action over its 2021 financial year guidance that preceded four earnings downgrades.
Law firms have railed against proposed legislation to ensure group members receive 70 per cent of any recoveries from class actions, saying the reforms were designed to “cripple” group proceedings.
The a2 Milk Company has reached a settlement in its fight against New Zealand-based Open Country’s trade mark containing the jealously guarded ‘a2’, with the rival dairy supplier dropping its successful application to register the mark.
An appellate panel of the Fair Work Commission has upheld an aged care worker’s termination for refusing a flu vaccine, but a full-throttled dissent by one commissioner warns Australians against “a system of medical apartheid and segregation”.
The Federal Circuit Court is addressing concerns raised by numerous appellate judges with rulings by a judge on the bench that have been variously labelled “misguided”, “disjointed” and “regrettable”.
Victoria’s environment watchdog has been taken to court over its decision to renew the licences of the state’s three remaining coal power stations, a test case under the state’s Climate Change Act and the latest in a series of climate lawsuits.