The administrators of Virgin Australia have been absolved of personal liability for the ongoing operation of the embattled airline on an unprecedented scale, with Australia’s airline duopoly and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic justifying the “extraordinarily wide” orders.
Power distributor Essential Energy has appealed a judgment granting preliminary discovery to landowners to pursue a potential class action over the 2018 Tathra bushfire.
Herbert Smith Freehills has bolstered the ranks of its global financial services team with the recruitment of former Norton Rose Fulbright partner Charlotte Henry.
Petrol station convenience store chain On The Run has been hit with a class action alleging it owes more than 8,000 current and former underpaid employees up to $70 million in lost wages.
War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith has told a judge hearing defamation proceedings against several media companies over articles accusing him of war crimes that he can only be vindicated if he is allowed to give evidence in open court, as the Federal Government seeks to impose restrictions on the case due to national security concerns.
Vocational education provider Box Hill Institute is facing a class action brought by disgruntled students who allege the licences they obtained through the institute did not provide them with the requisite knowledge or training to obtain a commercial pilots licence.
A judge has found that the High Court’s landmark ruling last year blocking common fund orders in the early stages of a class action also barred them from being made at the conclusion of a proceeding, departing from several recent rulings on common fund orders.
The settlement sum in three class actions against law firms that allegedly gave negligent advice about property investments in the now-defunct Ralan Group has been suppressed, after the court heard there was a risk of future claims being brought.
After almost five years before the courts, a judge has approved an approximately $120 million settlement of five class actions against Volkswagen over the diesel emissions scandal, including a “very substantial” $43 million in fees and disbursements for one of the plaintiffs firms.
The refusal by a Village Roadshow Theme Parks worker to take one day’s annual leave every week while she is on the JobKeeper subsidy was unreasonable, and showed a lack of sympathy for the company’s plight during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fair Work Commission has found.
For information on rights and reprints, contact subscriptions@lawyerly.com.au
