ON 1 SEPTEMBER 2014, Commissioner Ian Hanger AM QC presented the Report of the Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program.
Sydney, Australia
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Tag Archives: SYDNEY LAWYERS
Class Actions in Australia
Representative or group proceedings (class actions) were introduced to Australia through the Federal Court of Australia Amendment Act 1991 (Cth) which amended the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth). They have since been introduced in Victoria under the Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic) and in NSW under the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW).
Most class actions are brought in the Federal Court of Australia. The court rules require the following thresholds to be met before proceedings can be commenced:
- There must be seven or more persons bringing a claim against the same defendant(s).
- The claims must arise out the same, similar or related circumstances.
- The claims must give rise to at least one substantial common issue of law or fact.
Currently there are a number of class actions either under investigation on foot in Australia. Some of the more notable ones include:
ABC Learning Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Air Cargo Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Alcoa Alumina Refinery Multiple Plaintiff Action (Shine Lawyers)
Allco Shareholder Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
American Mesh Systems (AMS) Class Action (Shine Lawyers)
Arundel Suntown Tip Class Action (Shine Lawyers)
Australian Capital Reserve Class Action (Slater and Gordon)
Bank Fees Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Billabong Shareholder Class Action (Slater and Gordon)
Black Saturday Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Bladder Cancer Group Action assocated with Actos Diabetes Drug (Maurice Blackburn)
Bonsoy Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Brooklyn Park Olives (Slater and Gordon)
Cash Converters Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
CBA’s Open Advice Review Program – Commonwealth Financial Planning and Financial Wisdom Claims (Slater and Gordon)
CFA Fiskville claims (Slater and Gordon)
Class Action on behalf of people detained on Christmas Island (Maurice Blackburn)
Collingwood Park Mine Subsidence Group (Shine Lawyers)
Dan Bowl Tax Minimisation Scheme Group Action (Shine Lawyers)
DePuy ASR Hip Implants (Maurice Blackburn)
DePuy ASR Hip Replacement Class Action (Shine Lawyers)
DePuy / Johnson & Johnson Knee Replacement Class Action (Shine Lawyers)
DePuy (LCS Duofix Femoral Component) Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Elders Limited (Slater and Gordon)
Equine Influenza Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Fairbridge Farm School (Slater and Gordon)
False Imprisonment of Young People Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Financial Wisdom Class Action (Shine Lawyers)
Gladstone Harbour Disaster Representative Class Action (Shine Lawyers)
Grand Western Lodge Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Gunns Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Hastie Group (Slater and Gordon)
Hazelwood Coal Mine Fire Investigation (Maurice Blackburn)
Hepatitis C Class Action (Slater and Gordon)
Immigration Detention Claims (Slater and Gordon)
Johnson & Johnson/ Ethicon Class Action (Shine Lawyers)
Leighton Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
LM Investments Funds (Slater and Gordon)
Macquarie Equities Financial Planning Claims (Slater and Gordon)
NAB Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX:NCM) Class Action (Slater and Gordon)
NSW Bushfires Class Action (Slater and Gordon)
NZ bank fees (Slater and Gordon/Play Fair on Fees)
Pacific First Mortgage Fund Claim against Minter Ellison Gold Coast (Maurice Blackburn)
Perth Hills/Parkerville Bushfire (Slater and Gordon)
Prevelly-Margaret River Bushfires – November 2011 (Slater and Gordon)
Thalidomide Class Action (Slater & Gordon)
QBE Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Queensland Floods Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
River City Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Treasury Wine Estates Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Vodafone and Crazy John’s Class Action (Piper Alderman)
Workers with Intellectual Disabilities Class Action (Maurice Blackburn)
Zimmer Durom Hip Replacement Class Action (Shine Lawyers)
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Loose-fill asbestos in North Sydney
NORTH SYDNEY COUNCIL has been advised by the Heads of Asbestos Coordinating Authorities (HACA) that some houses in the area might contain loose-filled asbestos insulation supplied by Mr Fluffy from the late 1960’s to 1979.
WorkCover is to appoint an independent investigator to identify and test properties across NSW. Identified homeowners in the North Sydney area will be offered free testing.
The council recommends those who would like to have their roof cavity inspected to engage a Licensed Asbestos Assessor or an Occupational Hygienist who remove a specimen and have it tested at a NATA accredited laboratory at a cost of between $350 and $600. Homeowners are advised to have an assessment before undertaking refurbishment works on walls, ceilings, wall sockets, cornices or sub-floor areas.
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10/50 Vegitation Clearing
ON 1 AUGUST 2014, new laws known as the “10/50 Vegetation Clearing Legislation” were introduced to allow trees to be cleared in designated areas within New South Wales.
The Rural Fires Amendment (Vegetation Clearing) Act 2014 (NSW) amends the Rural Fires Act 1987 (NSW) to permit the owner of land in a 10/50 vegetation clearing entitlement area to:
- Without approval, clear trees on the property within 10 metres of a home.
- With approval, clear underlying vegetation (such as shrubs, but not trees) on the property within 50 metres of a home.
The NSW Fire Service has an online tool to work out whether or not a property is in a 10/50 Vegetation Clearing Entitlement Area.
The Rural Fire Service has produced a Code of Practice.
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LawAccess NSW Free Legal Help 1300 888 529
ON 1 SEPTEMBER 2014, the NSW Attorney General Brad Hazzard announced that LawAccess, the NSW free legal information service, , has taken 2 million calls since its establishment in September 2001.
LawAccess is a partnership between the Department of Justice, Legal Aid NSW, Law Society of NSW and the NSW Bar Association. It is available to everyone in New South Wales.
LAwAccess can be contacted on 1300 888 529 or www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au.
Common enquiries to LawAccess include family law child arrangements, debt, domestic violence, neighbourhood disputes, wills and divorce.
Since 2010, LawAccess has operated LawAssist, a website for people who represent themselves in courts and tribunals. More than 1.2 million people have visited that site since 2010.
Sydney, Australia
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Port of Melbourne Authority v Anshun Pty Ltd [1981] HCA 45 | 1 September 1981
ON 1 SEPTEMBER 1981, the High Court of Australia delivered Port of Melbourne Authority v Anshun Pty Ltd [1981] HCA 45; (1981) 147 CLR 589 (1 September 1981).
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1981/45.html
A party may be estopped (ie barred) from litigating a claim that could have been litigated in previous proceedings if it was unreasonable for the claim not to have been so litigated or if the new proceedings would result in an inconsistency with the earlier decision.
Sydney, Australia
1300 00 2088
APLA Limited v Legal Services Commissioner (NSW) [2005] HCA 44 | 1 September 2005
ON 1 SEPTEMBER 2005, the High Court of Australia delivered APLA Limited v Legal Services Commissioner (NSW) [2005] HCA 44; 224 CLR 322; 79 ALJR 1620; 219 ALR 403 (1 September 2005).
The plaintiffs brought proceedings challenging the constitutional validity of regulations made under Part 14 of the Legal Profession Act 1987 (NSW) banning lawyers from advertising their services for personal injury claims.
Clause 139 provided:
“(1) A barrister or solicitor must not publish or cause or permit to be published an advertisement that includes any reference to or depiction of any of the following:
(a) personal injury,
(b) any circumstance in which personal injury might occur, or any activity, event or circumstance that suggests or could suggest the possibility of personal injury, or any connection to or association with personal injury or a cause of personal injury,
(c) a personal injury legal service (that is, any legal service that relates to recovery of money, or any entitlement to recover money, in respect of personal injury).
Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.
(2) A contravention of this clause by a barrister or solicitor is declared to be professional misconduct.”
The plaintiffs argued that the regulations infringe various provisions of the Constitution including the guarantee of freedom of communication on political matters, free trade and the rule of law.
The High Court ruled that the regulations are constitutionally valid.
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Amalgamated Society of Engineers v Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd (“Engineers’ case”) [1920] HCA 54 | 31 August 1920
ON 31 AUGUST 1920, the High Court of Australia delivered Amalgamated Society of Engineers v Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd (“Engineers’ case”) [1920] HCA 54; (1920) 28 CLR 129 (31 August 1920).
Prior to the Engineers’ case, the High Court had held that the States had reserved powers and their instrumentalities were immune from Commonwealth interference. In the Engineers Case, the High Court held that, through a literal interpretation of the Constitution, the Commonwealth Parliament has the power to make laws with respect to conciliation and arbitration, allowing the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration to regulate the wages and conditions of employees of the State of Western Australia.
The case is significant because of the High Court’s adoption of a literal approach to constitutional interpretation. Per Higgins at 161-2:
“The fundamental rule of interpretation, to which all others are subordinate, is that a statute is to be expounded according to the intent of the Parliament that made it; and that intention has to be found by an examination of the language used in the statute as a whole. The question is, what does the language mean; and when we find what the language means, in its ordinary and natural sense, it is our duty to obey that meaning, even if we consider the result to be inconvenient or impolitic or improbable.”
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Griffiths v Kerkemeyer [1977] HCA 45 | 31 August 1977
ON 31 AUGUST 1977, the High Court of Australia delivered Griffiths v Kerkemeyer [1977] HCA 45; (1977) 139 CLR 161 (31 August 1977).
Damages – Personal injuries – Assessment – Permanent disablement – Services provided to plaintiff gratuitously – Whether damages recoverable in respect of gratuitous services – Measure of damages – Market cost of provision of services or loss suffered by person providing them – Whether damages held in trust for person providing services.
At common law, a person disabled by the fault of another may recover damages for the commercial value of any necessary nursing and domestic services provided gratuitously by a friend or relative.
Legislation such as the Civil Liability Acts modify the common law, limiting the circumstances of entitlement and the amounts that may be claimed.
Sydney, Australia
1300 00 2088
Report of the Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program
The report of the Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program is due today, 31 August 2014.
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