Legal challenges to the New South Wales Health Minister’s orders mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for certain workers have already entered a third wave and cannot all be heard together, a court has heard.
A proposed alliance between Qantas and Japan Airlines has failed to take flight after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said the coordination of flights between Australia, New Zealand and Japan could cause ticket prices to soar.
Insurance giant Lloyd’s has rejected what it calls an “incomprehensible” class action pleading by Australian businesses that argue its business interruption policies should have indemnified them for losses stemming from COVID-19 lockdowns.
A judge has found three lawsuits contesting compulsory COVID-19 vaccination orders by the New South Wales health minister should be heard together given the importance of avoiding competing judgments in the cases, which raise questions of public interest and drew tens of thousands of viewers to a live streamed hearing.
Despite COVID-19 case numbers in Australia hitting historic highs and the threat of an economic recession, law firms are cautiously optimistic about their ability to weather the storm without redundancies or reductions in staff pay.
Lockdown orders by the Victorian government and an international travel ban in place last year during the first wave of COVID-19 did not trigger a business interruption clause in an IAG policy at the centre of a test case brought by insurers, a judge heard Monday.
Insurance Australia has been hit with a class action by business owners whose claims for business interruption losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been denied.
A judge has thrown out an urgent bid by Australian religious leaders for a temporary exemption from COVID-19 lockdown orders in NSW and Victoria to observe upcoming religious holidays, saying granting the injunction may lead to deaths.
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.
The judge overseeing ASIC’s first COVID-19-related case has criticised personal lender ClearLoans’ delay in responding to the case, saying a change in the company’s legal representation was not an excuse for defaulting on court orders.