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Fearing passage of a contentious bill in parliament that threatens to curb open class actions, plaintiffs law firms and funders have raced to court with new cases in the past two weeks.
More casuals class actions to be dropped in wake of High Court’s Rossato decision
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Two law firms are seeking court approval to drop class actions brought on behalf of allegedly misclassified casual coal miners, in light of a High Court decision that “radically” decreased their chances of success.
ACCC pressured ASIC to drop investigation into JPMorgan, court hears
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A senior ACCC officer tried to dissuade ASIC from investigating alleged insider trading by JPMorgan because of fears it would “upset” the competition regulator’s criminal cartel case over a $2.5 billion ANZ share placement, a court has heard.
Banksia-inspired conflict of interest regulations quietly take effect
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Spurred by the Banksia class action scandal, the federal government has implemented new regulations requiring litigation funders to manage conflicts of interest that arise when the lawyers acting on a class action have a “material financial interest” in the funder that’s running it.
Virgin Australia tweaks COVID-19 vaccination policy to resolve union lawsuit
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Virgin Australia has walked back part of its COVID-19 vaccination policy after the union representing aircraft maintenance engineers received hundred of complaints about the requirement that they provide their Individual Health Identifier as part of proof of their vaccination status.
Woodside hit with second lawsuit over $16.5B WA natural gas project
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Woodside Energy has been sued over its $16.5 billion Scarborough gas field development, with an environmental group alleging the project’s approval was invalid because the government of Western Australia failed to properly account for its impact on climate change.
Class action targets Morrison government over white spot disease outbreak
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The federal government is facing a class action over alleged biosecurity breaches that led to the 2016 outbreak of white spot disease in South-East Queensland, which decimated the region’s commercial prawn industry.
Freshii takes Aussie master franchiser to court over unpaid bills
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Canadian fast food restaurant Freshii is suing its Australian master franchiser for alleged “extensive failures” to pay what was owed under the franchising agreement and a decision to open eight restaurants in Australia without permission.
CFMMEU cops $554,600 penalty for coercive worksite protests
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The CFMMEU and two of its officers have been hit with a $554,600 penalty for allegedly using the union’s “covert industrial muscle” to pressure a New South Wales crane company to bend to its bargaining demands.
Acciona may have ‘difficulty’ persuading court in spat over $696M Kwinana project
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A judge has granted a 21-day stay of a lawsuit brought by Acciona, a Spanish infrastructure company seeking to use COVID-19 as a reason to back out of its construction contract for the $696 million Kwinana waste-to-energy plant, and has warned the company it faces a difficult task to persuade the court of its case.