Lawyers behind a Timbercorp class action will fight a court decision that denies compensation payments to investors of the failed agribusiness group.
In a statement from law firm Macpherson + Kelley Lawyers (M+K), an appeal was filed in the Victorian Court of Appeal yesterday.
M+K managing director Victoria James Sturgess said the decision by Justice James Judd in September to dismiss the class action was “very disappointing” for the thousands of Timbercorp investors.
“The decision denied damages to investors in the Timbercorp schemes and disallowed investors’ relief from having to pay out loans arranged through Timbercorp to fund their investments,” Sturgess said.
“The grounds of appeal fundamentally rest on Timbercorp’s failure to disclose to investors information about such key risks as the company’s possible running out of cash needed to keep the projects alive for their intended long-term duration.
“The grounds of appeal essentially invite the Appeal Court to overturn Justice Judd’s interpretation of key sections of the Corporations Act dealing with disclosure obligations placed on responsible entities of managed investment schemes and conclude that those obligations were not properly discharged by Timbercorp Securities Ltd.”
M+K has consulted with the more than 2000 former Timbercorp investors who are members of the class action and there is strong support for the appeal.
“Many of our clients now face considerable ongoing loan obligations for worthless forestry and horticulture investments,” he said.
“In aggregate, Timbercorp Finance Pty Ltd says it is owed approximately $448 million under loans made to those investors in the projects who are members of the class action.”
Sturgess said the appeal is not only important for the Timbercorp investors but is an important area of law that has potential implications for investors within Australia’s multi-billion dollar managed investment sector.
