The judge overseeing multiple class actions against Volkswagen over its dieselgate emissions scandal has said he will “need persuading” before reallocating the settlement approval to a different judge, because “that’s something that happens in Victoria”.
Boutique class action firm Bannister Law has been told “not to make too much noise” from its spot at “the back of the bus” in the VW dieselgate class actions, after its legal team flagged its intention to try and expedite the $127.1 million settlement approval process.
The Federal Government wants the High Court to weigh in on a landmark ruling last month that found food manufacturing giant Mondelez was short-changing its Tasmanian shift workers on their personal leave entitlements under the Fair Work Act.
A Federal Court judge has dismissed an application by GetSwift to delay the hearing of a shareholder class action against it, despite arguments that a judge would need to be “superhuman” to hear the trial immediately after a civil penalty hearing brought by ASIC against the logistics company.
After four years of litigation, the Volkswagen diesel emissions class actions have reached an in-principle settlement of up to $127.1 million, with affected consumers expected to receive $1,400 per vehicle on average if 100 per cent participation is achieved.
The High Court has cleared the way for victims of a rubbish tip fire that tore through 17,000 acres of farmland in the NSW Riverina to claim more than $20 million in damages in a class action, after rejecting an appeal bid by the local council.
A five-judge panel of the Full Federal Court has found two innovation patents by financial software company Encompass Corp. are not a manner of manufacture, but held back on providing more clarity on the test for the patentability of computer-implemented inventions.
A judge has approved a common fund application in a class action against two IAG entities over add-on insurance said to be worth up to $1 billion, saying it was only fair to make all group members pay to fund the litigation.
The judge overseeing a class action against The Cosmetic Institute over allegedly botched breast enhancement surgery has queried whether the plaintiffs were playing an “April Fool’s joke” after they proposed a list of 120 common questions for determination.
The Queensland Supreme Court has upheld the legality of litigation funding agreements in a landmark class action judgment that could have a ripple effect across other states in Australia.