A six-week trial in a shareholder class action against Crown Resorts set to begin at the end of October will start off virtually and shift to an in-person hearing once COVID-19 restrictions are eased in Victoria.
The applicants in the Queensland floods class action have asked the High Court to overturn a judgment which found dam operator Seqwater was not liable because it was functioning as a public authority when operating two dams during the 2011 floods, arguing the case raises important issues about appeals in ‘mega’ litigation.
A judge has criticised Qantas and the Transport Workers’ Union for their “not particularly helpful” public comments about whether or not ground staff will be reinstated upon resolution of their long-running outsourcing dispute.
Law firms have railed against proposed legislation to ensure group members receive 70 per cent of any recoveries from class actions, saying the reforms were designed to “cripple” group proceedings.
A judge overstepped in throwing out a class action against two National Australia Bank units over alleged MySuper mismanagement because of a carveout in the Victorian Supreme Court Act which bars class actions involving trust property, an appeals court has heard.
NSW Health wants to amend its defence to an underpayments class action on behalf of 24,000 junior doctors, bringing claims that the lead applicant is barred from seeking compensation for group members under industrial relations law.
New requirements that funded class actions be run as managed investment schemes will throw up myriad new questions for the courts, with lawyers predicting novel challenges by defendants and group members and an altered landscape for competing class actions.
A judge has refused a bid by accounting firms Pitcher Partners and EY to access share trading data of unregistered group members in a securities class action over advice to Slater & Gordon, despite claims upcoming mediation will be “pointless” without the information.
Qantas has lost its second attempt to delay a hearing on further relief pending an appeal in its outsourcing spat with the Transport Workers Union, with a judge finding a stay would prejudice the union more than the airline.
Qantas has filed a bid to delay a hearing on penalty after a judge found the airline outsourced ground operations partly to prevent employees engaging in industrial action, but the TWU has said a stay would be “unfair” to 1,600 former ground staff.