A unit of staffing company Programmed has become the latest target of a litigation blitz over casual workers, with the company facing a $45 million class action for allegedly failing to pay workers accrued annual leave and other entitlements.
The Federal Government is considering reforms targeting litigation funders in response to what it has called a greater number of “increasingly politicised” class actions against companies in the mining and resources industry.
The Federal Court has ruled against mining services firm Thiess in a class action brought by construction workers seeking unpaid wages for time spent on the bus travelling home from work on the project site for a Pilbara-based liquefied natural gas processing plant owned by Woodside Energy.
The Federal Court has rejected an “unusual” confidentiality regime proposed by Domino’s Pizza Enterprises which would have resulted in restricted access to discovered documents for the funder backing the class action against the global fast food giant.
A hearing scheduled for next year in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s case against two NAB wealth management units will focus solely on how steep a penalty the bank should face after it made admissions about its fees for no service conduct.
A Federal Court judge has expressed concerns about whether group members in three class actions against the Commonwealth over allegedly toxic firefighting foam will be blocked from pursuing personal injury claims related to the chemical.
Murray Goulburn has agreed to pay $37.5 million to resolve the second of two shareholder class actions over its 2016 profit forecasts, as the $42 million settlement of the first class action is held up over questions about the litigation funder’s commission.
A Federal Court judge has reversed a prior ruling expanding the class in a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson unit Ethicon over allegedly defective pelvic mesh implants, saying he had “no confidence” new group members would have sufficient opportunity to opt out before judgment is delivered in a few weeks.
The judge overseeing seven class actions against some of the world’s largest car makers over defective Takata airbags has ordered that class closure take place in advance of mediation, saying it was “time…for commercial reality to bite”.
Japanese auto maker Mazda is facing regulatory action from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for allegedly refusing to provide purchasers of defective vehicles with a full refund or no-cost replacement, amid a continuing threat of a possible class action over alleged defects in certain vehicles.