Gall v Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited (No 2) [2021] FCA 345

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Gall v Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited (No 2) [2021] FCA 345 File number: VID 685 of 2019

Judgment of: MURPHY J

Date of judgment: 13 April 2021

Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Representative Proceedings - application to strike out Further Amended Statement of Claim (FASOC) – approach to pleadings having regard to modern case management – whether parts of FASOC should be struck out as they do not disclose a reasonable cause of action – whether Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Fair Work Act) constitutes a code in relation to claims concerning underpayment of award entitlements which precludes such claims under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) in Sch. 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) – whether by necessary implication ss 52 and 82 of Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) impliedly limited or repealed to the extent of any inconsistency by later enactment of Fair Work Act –whether ss 18 and 236 of the ACL should be construed as limited in relation to claims concerning underpayment of award entitlements by the operation of ss 45, 539 and 545 of the Fair Work Act– whether the pleading is sufficient to show that the applicant and group members have suffered loss and damage when their rights to bring an action under the Fair Work Act are intact – whether the pleading of causation and reliance is sufficient – whether the applicant is required to plead a counterfactual – whether the applicant is required to plead whether "but for" or "a material cause" test for causation is relied upon – whether the applicant is required to plead that the reliance of third parties on the alleged representations was reasonable – whether the pleading of the representations is adequate – whether miscellaneous parts of FASOC should be struck out as conclusory, rolled up, embarrassing, confusing, vague or ambiguous – strikeout application dismissed