Adachi v Qantas Airways Limited

In *Adachi v Qantas Airways Limited*, the applicant, Ms. Adachi, brought an application before Judge Barnes of the Federal Court of Australia seeking to strike out certain points of claim filed by the respondent, Qantas Airways Limited. The dispute concerned an adverse action claim initiated by Ms. Adachi against Qantas.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the points of claim, as particularised by Qantas, were so manifestly weak or lacking in substance that they ought to be struck out. This required the Court to consider the adequacy of the factual allegations and the legal basis upon which Qantas sought to resist Ms. Adachi's adverse action claim.

Judge Barnes reasoned that for points of claim to be struck out, they must be demonstrably without any reasonable prospect of success or be an abuse of process. The Court examined the specific allegations made by Qantas, assessing whether they provided sufficient particularity to inform Ms. Adachi of the case she had to meet and whether, if proven, they would constitute a valid defence to the adverse action claim. The Court ultimately found that the points of claim, as pleaded, did not meet the high threshold for striking out and therefore dismissed the application.