In what could be the largest employment class action ever brought, Telstra contractor Tandem Corp has been accused of unlawfully designating thousands of telecommunications technicians as independent contractors, avoiding overtime, leave and other benefits to the workers. The “sham” contracting class action, filed Wednesday by Shine Lawyers in the Federal Court, alleges Tandem, formerly ISG…
The court’s authority to shut down competing class actions is no longer in doubt after Tuesday’s Full Federal Court judgment in the case against GetSwift, and while there is no “silver bullet” when it comes to how judges must deal with multiple proceedings, there are key factors to weigh, the appeals court said. Here, experts provide the big takeaways from the landmark ruling.
The Full Federal Court has dismissed a challenge to a ruling that chose one of three shareholder class actions to proceed against GetSwift, saying the court had the power to permanently stay competing cases. But an injunction blocking the losing law firms from communicating with clients was going too far, it said.
Real estate agency Barry Plant has been hit with a $720,000 fine after admitting it breached the consumer laws by underquoting the likely selling price of 20 properties listed online.
Pacific National would not misuse its market power after taking control of an important rail terminal in Brisbane because that would be “irrational”, the Federal Court heard Monday at the start of a two-week trial in the competition watchdog’s case alleging the rail giant colluded with competitor Aurizon to become the dominant operator of key freight corridors.
A groundbreaking judgment by the Full Federal Court over competing class actions will be handed down Tuesday morning and is expected to give judges much needed guidance on how to move forward when confronted, as they increasingly are, with multiple proceedings over the same alleged misconduct.
California-based acai berry company Sambazon Inc. has resolved legal action that accused its former Australian distributors of co-opting the company’s Amazonian narrative to promote a competing business.
Blockbuster has lost another round in its case against a husband and wife franchisee that sold a store’s assets to a competitor, with a court ruling the company could not sock the pair with the costs of its failed appeal.
The accountants for fraudster Scott Williams, the man behind the multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme Centaur Litigation, lost a bid to amend their defence to limit their liability in a $32 million case brought by liquidators of the failed funder.
Maurice Blackburn’s battle with the Australian Taxation Office over a tax bill on class action settlements for thousands of Black Saturday bushfire victims went to court Tuesday, and the landmark case may turn on whether or not the law firm’s administration of the settlement distribution scheme counts as a business.