Accounting firms Pitcher Partners and Ernst & Young have blamed the lawyers who advised on Slater & Gordon’s disastrous $1.2 Quindell acquisition for the its massive losses in 2016, saying they failed to point out the “commercial misjudgment” of agreeing to the deal.
Accounting firms EY and Pitcher Partners ignored “front page news” that Slater & Gordon’s acquired business Quindell was scrutinised by a UK regulator after reporting a $250 million (£137 million) loss, a court heard on the second day of trial in a class action by the law firm’s shareholders.
Accounting firm Pitcher Partners gave faulty advice ahead of Slater & Gordon’s disastrous $1.2 billion Quindell acquisition that was responsible for $800 million in the business’ value “disappearing” within six months, a court heard on the first day of trial in a long-running class action by the law firm’s shareholders.
The Victorian Supreme Court will push ahead with a hearing for a group costs order in a class action by Arrium shareholders despite requests by the applicants that it be put off until after judgment is issued on the second-ever group costs order request.
Two class actions against Pitcher Partners and Arnold Bloch Leibler over advice given ahead of Slater & Gordon’s disastrous $1.2 billion Quindell acquisition will proceed to trial next month after mediation between the parties failed to resolve the cases.
A Victoria Supreme Court judge will hear the second ever application for a group costs order in a shareholder class action against G8 Education, saying she hoped to deal with the bid in a “straightforward way”.
A judge has refused a bid by accounting firms Pitcher Partners and EY to access share trading data of unregistered group members in a securities class action over advice to Slater & Gordon, despite claims upcoming mediation will be “pointless” without the information.
A ruling this week that rejected the first application for a group costs order in a class action because the applicants were better off with their existing no win, no fee arrangement was the right decision given the limits of the legislation, experts say.
A judge has signed off on a proposal by two law firms to jointly run a consolidated class action against Allianz over add-on car insurance, shooting down the insurer’s argument that a beauty contest would promote competitive contingency fee rates.
Saying the interests of class action members “must be given primacy”, a judge has rejected the first bid for a group costs order in a class action since contingency fee legislation passed in Victoria.