Panagiotidis v IProsper Financial Planning Pty Ltd

The matter before the Court involves two applicants, Mr Panagiotidis and Mr Sayers, who commenced proceedings against IProsper Financial Planning Pty Ltd and others in the Federal Circuit Court, alleging contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The respondents filed a defence and subsequently moved to strike out the applicants' statements of claim in their entirety. This decision follows the transfer of the proceedings to the Federal Court and their subsequent return to the Federal Circuit Court. The Court was required to decide whether the statements of claim should be struck out and whether the matter could proceed on affidavit material if the pleadings were deficient.

The Court considered the 157 objections raised by the respondents and found them to be valid and substantial, impacting the intelligibility of the pleadings. Given the extensive nature of the objections, the Court determined that striking out the pleadings in their entirety was the most practical course of action. The Court rejected the applicants' proposal to proceed on affidavit material, emphasizing the importance of clear pleadings, especially given the quasi-criminal nature of the allegations. The Court granted the applicants leave to re-plead but warned that this would likely be the final opportunity.

The Court ordered that both statements of claim be struck out with leave to the applicants to re-plead. The matter is scheduled for a directions hearing on 13 May 2024 to discuss the timetable for filing a defence and any outstanding applications. The Court reserved the question of costs related to the strike out applications and the potential costs incurred by the applicants for re-pleading.