Labour hire company Workpac has been fined just $1,650 after a groundbreaking Full Federal Court decision that a casual employee could be eligible for annual leave, with a judge saying the low penalty reflected the lack of clarity in the law.
The funder that’s bankrolling a shareholder class action against Murray Goulburn is seeking court approval for a funding agreement under which it would get a 28 per cent cut of any settlement.
And then there were four. Plaintiffs law firm Slater & Gordon wants to consolidate its AMP shareholder class action with Maurice Blackburn’s case and hand over the reins to its rival, a deal signed the day the Full Federal Court affirmed the power of judges to shut down competing class actions.
The showdown between five law firms vying to lead a class action over the AMP fees for no service scandal kicked off in the NSW Supreme Court Thursday with counsel for one case saying the contest, although costly and consuming, would ultimately be a win for all class action participants.
AMP’s advice executive Jack Regan, the witness who aired the firm’s fees-for-no-service dirty laundry at the Royal Commission, has retired, a day before five law firms compete to lead a class action over the scandal.
The two funders paying for a shareholder class action against facility services company Spotless Group want 25 percent of any net settlement or judgment in the case, a rate that mirrors the commission approved in a common fund order now at the centre of a constitutional challenge.
Blockbuster has lost another round in its case against a husband and wife franchisee that sold a store’s assets to a competitor, with a court ruling the company could not sock the pair with the costs of its failed appeal.
A judge has adjourned an application by law firm Slater & Gordon for a common fund order in a class action against the Commonwealth Bank and its wealth management unit, amid two landmark challenges to the courts’ powers to make such orders.
Adero Law is seeking to intervene in a Federal Court case against WorkPac over the rights of casual workers, arguing a class action it plans to bring against the labour hire firm should be heard first.
Murray Goulburn has told a judge it may seek to cap costs in two shareholder class actions that centre on a 2016 profit forecast revision, taking a page from the playbook of baby food maker Bellamy’s.