The Australia Competition and Consumer Commission is seeking a $35 million penalty against Empower Institute after the court found the vocational trainer engaged in unconscionable conduct by “duping” customers into enrolling in courses they could not afford.
Car giant Ford will face a claim of unconsionable conduct in a trial of a class action over its defective PowerShift transmission that is now scheduled to run twice as long as originally thought, but claims on behalf of second-hand Ford vehicle owners are out.
Barristers for Senator David Leyonhjelm failed to turn up to the first case management hearing in the politician’s own appeal of the court’s dismissal of his bid to stay a defamation case brought by Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.
National car repair franchise Ultra Tune has been ordered to pay a $2.6 million penalty, with a judge finding the firm had not only breached the Franchising Code and the Australian Consumer Law by misleading a prospective franchisee but also misled the court in its defence of the case brought by the consumer watchdog.
An ecological landscaper suing the Retail Employees Superannuation Trust fund for an undeveloped climate change policy has lost an application for a maximum costs order in the public-interest case.
A judge that dismissed an investor class action against the Public Trustee of Queensland over the failure of investment firm Octaviar Group improperly intervened in the cross-examination of one of the class’ witnesses, one of the judges that will hear an appeal of the dismissal was told.
Actor Craig McLachlan has won a bid to stay his defamation case against actress Christie Whelan Browne, Fairfax Media and the ABC in light of recent indecent assault charges brought against him, with a judge finding the cases deal with identical subject matter.
A Queens Counsel and a junior barrister at the Victorian Bar are taking DLA Piper to court, accusing the law firm of failing to pay more than $370,000 in fees.
Spotless Services violated the Fair Work Act by failing to pay redundancy for workers employed at Perth International Airport, a court has found, in a ruling that clarifies when employers are on the hook for redundancy payments.
The ACCC does not need to prove Volkswagen knew about the diesel emissions software at the heart of its action against the car giant — that’s just a factor that will magnify penalties in the case, the regulator has told a court.