ANZ Bank will not pay a cent to franchisees in its settlement of two class actions that allege the bank breached its responsible lending obligations and engaged in unconscionable conduct by giving loans to purchasers of 7-Eleven franchises.
While no means a flood, the class actions filed in response to the shocking evidence of misbehaviour at last year’s banking royal commission have been steadily flowing and show no signs of drying up. Here, we give you the round-up of cases launched so far, the latest developments in each, and what’s coming down the pipeline.
A second combustible cladding class action has been launched, this time against Fairview Architectural, the Australian manufacturer of Vitrabond polyethylene cladding, which it claims has been used at major Australian airports, entertainment facilities and government buildings.
A judge has baulked at an application by labour hire company Chandler Macleod and BHP unit Mt Arthur Coal seeking security for their legal costs in two casual worker class actions, saying Fair Work cases were not the same as shareholder class actions.
Ultra Tune has been given the go-ahead to challenge a $2.6 million penalty for alleged breaches of franchising and consumer laws, after a judge said she had “no sympathy” for the consumer regulator’s opposition to the car repair franchisor’s bid for more time to lodge an appeal.
The Fair Work Commission has dismissed an appeal by Ryan Wilks challenging a finding that the electrical and engineering company unfairly sacked an employee for getting drunk at a work function hosted by the Sydney Opera House, a major client.
HWL Ebsworth’s partners are facing trial in a case blaming the law firm and the NSW government for losses stemming from the $28.5 million sale of Crown-owned Sydney land to property developer PPK Group.
A court has taken an ax to the final bill by liquidators of three failed subsidiaries of multi-national agribusiness SK Foods Group, lopping off 30 per cent after a successful intervention by the corporate regulator, which called the more than $5.7 million claimed by the liquidators excessive.
Ernst & Young, which has been named in a class action over its auditing of sandalwood producer Quintis, has filed cross-claims alleging Quintis should pick up the tab for any liability it may face in the proceedings.
A court has given the green light to a $1.1 million class action settlement with the owners of Sydney’s Quakers Hill Nursing Home over a fire deliberately lit by one of its employees in 2011.