Cindy Cameronne

A judge has dismissed a bid by Medibank to restrain the Office of Australian Information Commissioner from proceeding with a class action-style complaint on behalf of millions of the private health insurer’s customers affected by an October 2022 data breach.

A judge has declined a novel bid by the lead applicant in a class action over disruptions stemming from the construction of Sydney’s $3 billion light rail to claim a funder’s 40 per cent commission as damages, rather than as a deduction from group members’ payout.

A Melbourne pawnbroker is facing a class action over alleged “unjust transactions” involving loans that were given in exchange for customers’ sentimental items and with annual interest rates equivalent to 480 per cent.

Honda has admitted that it owes compensation to a Melbourne car dealer for a deliberate breach of contract following its decision to ditch a dealership model in Australia, but argues a $22 million damages claim by the dealer needs a “reality check”.

The ACCC’s rejection of a $4.9 billion merger between ANZ and Suncorp was hardly surprising given the concentrated nature of the home loans market, but the competition regulator faced an uphill battle in having the decision upheld, an expert says.

The ACCC’s decision to block a $4.9 billion merger between ANZ and Suncorp has been set aside, with a tribunal finding the transaction will not substantially lessen competition in the home loans market or for agribusiness and SME clients in Queensland. 

The former head of brand marketing at cosmetics retailer Mecca Brands has sued the company and its chief marketing officer for allegedly using her maternity leave as a test to see if her position should be made redundant. 

National Australia Bank has lost its bid to shield a case by a Melbourne gold bullion dealer after a judge said one of the bank’s arguments for suppression had “the air of a Kafka novel”.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has won its underpayments case against restaurant chain Sushi Bay and its director, with a judge finding the company forced migrant workers to pay back their entitlements in cash in a “calculated and institutional effort” to conceal wrongdoing. 

King & Wood Mallesons has snagged an industrial relations and employment law ace from Clayton Utz, who collaborated with the Attorney-General on implementing the recent Respect@Work reforms.