The country’s most experienced class action law firm won two and lost two in last year’s beauty parades before the courts, showing track record is not everything when it comes to winning carriage of cases and that picking the winner can be a tricky business. From line-ball decisions to law firm team-ups and the lowest contingency fee order yet, here’s how 2023’s class action contests went down.
KFC has failed to block Grill’d’s HFC trade mark, with a judge finding the marks are not deceptively similar and that Grill’d did not act in bad faith despite parodying the fast food giant in advertising for its ‘Healthy Fried Chicken’ products.
Medibank has asked a judge to put the kibosh on class action-style proceedings filed with the OAIC, arguing findings inconsistent with those in a class action over its October 2022 data breach could do damage to the public’s view of the court.
The claims in two class actions alleging fast food giant KFC denied workers rest breaks are substantially similar but not identical, a court has heard, and whether or not the two cases are headed for a battle to survive remains to be seen.
Qantas has hit back the ACCC’s argument that the airline failed to respond to key allegations in its ‘ghost flights’ case, telling the court it’s the regulator’s job to particularise its claims.
The High Court has denied a bid for special leave by the Commonwealth Bank and other lenders to challenge a ruling that found two Arrium directors did not mislead them about loan drawdown notices ahead of the steel company’s $2.8 billion collapse.
Network Ten, which is resisting paying the legal bill for Lisa Wilkinson in defamation proceedings by accused rapist Bruce Lehrmann, has argued it is only on the hook for paying costs “reasonably incurred” by the presenter.
A leading plaintiff law firm will file a competing class action against KFC before the end of the year alleging the fast food giant denied workers rest breaks, after Gordon Legal filed a group proceeding late last month, a court has heard.
The ACCC has raised concerns over Qantas’ alleged failure to respond to claims in a blockbuster case against the airline over the sale of tickets on cancelled flights.
The High Court will consider an exception to the general immunity of foreign states for the first time, as it hears an appeal of a decision which found Indonesia’s national airline could avail itself of foreign state immunity to defeat a winding up application.