Damages for reduction in value under the Australian Consumer Law are at the centre of competing special leave applications to the High Court filed by Toyota and the lead applicant in a class action over defective diesel filters.
Mining services company Thiess has settled a class action by fly-in fly-out workers who alleged they were not paid for time spent on the bus travelling home from a Pilbara-based liquefied natural gas processing plant owned by Woodside Energy.
An appeals court has partially sided with Toyota in a challenge to the damages bill assessed by a judge in a class action over defective diesel filters, saying the reduction in value of affected cars should be assessed at 10 per cent, not 17.5 per cent, of the price paid by motorists.
Opal Tower engineer WSP is battling insurers for builder Icon over coverage for the costs of a class action by residents, telling a court on Wednesday that Icon was liable for alleged structural defects in the building despite having subcontracted the structural design to WSP.
The question of whether judges have the power to hear employment cases as representative proceedings is headed to the Full Court after a union raised the issue as it battles to have its underpayments case against McDonald’s run instead of a Shine Lawyers class action.
Two judges on the Full Court bench hearing arguments over power to make common fund orders when approving class action settlements appeared to tip their hand on Monday, chipping away at a High Court judgment that has sowed deep division.
The divisive issue of whether judges are empowered to make a common fund order to distribute the costs of a funding commission at the settlement stage of a class action is headed back to the Full Federal Court next week.
A judge has approved a $450,000 penalty against Australian Mines in ASIC proceedings brought after its managing director was allegedly caught lying at an investment conference about the value of an offtake agreement and funding for a project at its cobalt and nickel mine in Queensland.
A judge has dismissed a class action brought by a pensioner against the Department of Social Services over its real estate asset testing for pensions, citing his lack of legal representation.
The Western Australian government has won its bid to strike out a class action that seeks damages for alleged discrimination against First Nations Australians detained for unpaid fines.