A former Freedom Foods group general counsel is seeking aggravated damages from the food and beverage manufacturer for claiming in court filings that she was fired for serious misconduct.
An account director for Oracle is suing the tech company alleging he was fired for making complaints about one of his superiors who allegedly told him he had “zero EQ” and “an innate ability to annoy and anger people”.
Troubled food and beverage manufacturer Freedom Foods has denied a former company secretary and group general counsel was protected by whistleblower laws, claiming it was entitled to fire her for “serious misconduct”.
Payouts in class actions in 2020 largely kept pace with the previous year despite the financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, with companies and other defendants paying more than $696 million to settle class actions last year.
A judge has signed off on settlements in two class actions against a defunct Sydney-based financial advisory firm by a group of Chinese investors over a property investment and visa scheme that allegedly saw group members lose $30 million in funds.
A judge will appoint an independent barrister to determine the allocation of settlement proceeds between insured group members and their insurers from two St Patrick’s Day bushfire class actions, finding that the ‘overly combative’ conduct of law firm Maddens warranted the appointment despite the extra costs involved.
A settlement has been reached in a class action against a Sydney-based financial advisory firm by a group of Chinese investors over a property investment and visa scheme that allegedly saw group members lose $14.5 million in funds.
A judge has signed off on a $10.5 million settlement in a class action over the 2015 Scotsburn bushfire in Victoria, but slashed the costs of the law firm that brought the case by over $1 million.
A recent decision in ASIC’s case against ANZ has highlighted the potential risks of waiver of client legal privilege, with the Federal Court observing that the distinctions can be “fine”. While ANZ avoided having to disclose its legal advice to the regulator, the decision is a reminder of the potential pitfalls of referring to legal advice in correspondence, and that pleading a state of mind in litigation carries risks from a privilege perspective, says Hall & Wilcox partner Jacob Uljans.
Hall & Wilcox has lured an insolvency ace from McCullough Robertson to bolster its insolvency and commercial litigation team in Brisbane.