Two law firms that were set to run competing class actions against Coles and Woolworths over alleged illusory discounts have reached an in-principle agreement to collaborate.
Hitting back at the regulator’s claims of dodgy sales promotions, Coles and Woolworths say price increases were the result of real cost pressures, and subsequent discounts were not illusory.
Coles and Woolworths face a possible second class action over alleged dodgy discounts the subject of enforcement action by the consumer watchdog.
Coles and Woolworths have been hit with class actions on the back of ACCC proceedings alleging the grocery giants misled consumers with false discounts.
Coles and Woolworths have hit back at the ACCC’s claims they advertised “illusory” discounts, pointing the finger at inflation and higher supply costs.
Major supermarkets Coles and Woolworths have been taken to court by the consumer regulator, accused of inflating prices for short periods in order to advertise more attractive discounts.
A unit of petrol store chain EG Australia has sued Ashurst and LegalVision alleging they breached their implied duty of care through advice given to Woolworths about the assignment of a disputed Sydney petrol station lease.
A former employee has brought proceedings against Woolworths, claiming the supermarket giant failed to properly address alleged sexual harassment in its “poor workplace culture”.
On the first day of trial in parallel class actions and regulatory proceedings, the Fair Work Ombudsman panned the payment systems adopted by Woolworths and Coles for salaried managers, saying they were “entirely foreign” to the industrial award and that the supermarket giants had “no meaningful proper records” for overtime.
A Federal Court judge has pulled the plug on a bid by the Fair Work Ombudsman for an upcoming trial in wage cases against supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths to be livestreamed like other hearings of public interest in the court.