A McDonald’s franchise has been hit with a lawsuit accusing it of deliberately withholding workers’ paid rest breaks and committing “horrifying” and “shameful” violations of the Fair Work Act, the seventh such lawsuit to be filed by the union representing fast food workers.
Legislation capping litigation funder returns in class actions to 30 per cent and requiring group members to sign up to funding schemes has been introduced to federal parliament despite widespread criticism.
Two law firms accused of providing negligent advice to Dover Financial over a so-called client protection policy found to be “highly misleading” have argued the defunct financial advisor should not be able to recover the $1.2 million penalty it was ordered to pay.
A judge has rejected a request to discontinue a class action on behalf of investors in failed music streaming platform Guvera, saying it was “difficult to understand” why the applicants had launched the case as a class action in the first place.
Last week’s judgment denouncing the scandalous behaviour of the legal team running the Banksia Securities class action cast a spotlight on the conduct of lawyers for some of the defendants, asking whether “untenable” defences were maintained beyond an acceptable point in the case.
Law firm Colin Biggers & Paisley has pulled off a merger in the middle of lockdown, acquiring a Melbourne law firm that will boost its partner count by six.
Lawyers running the scandal-ridden Banksia class action have been struck from the roll of practitioners, will face criminal investigation and must pay group members $11.7 million in damages.
It has been described as the darkest chapter in Victoria’s legal history, an exemplar of all that is terrible with class actions in Australia. A case of greedy lawyers who found their golden egg in a group of retirees who had lost their life savings, never thinking the chickens might come home to roost. Until now.
As Australia’s largest cities prepare to emerge from lockdown, law firms are doubling down on their efforts to vaccinate staff, with some going so far as to implement a ‘no jab, no office’ policy.
As states across Australia grapple with lockdowns and rising COVID-19 cases, lawyers practising in a range of areas, from employment to insurance, are bracing for a fresh wave of pandemic-related litigation before the year is out.