Today, leading litigation firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (Quinn Emanuel) filed class action proceedings against ASX listed company, IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX:IFL) (IOOF) in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The class action is funded by the Regency Group.
The class action against IOOF arises from evidence given at the Banking Royal Commission (the Royal Commission) that IOOF Investment Management (IIML) and Questor Financial Services (Questor), subsidiaries of IOOF, breached their duties as superannuation trustees and that IOOF's directors and officers were on notice of those breaches, yet failed to act.
As a result of IOOF's conduct, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) launched legal proceedings against IOOF in December 2018 to disqualify those directors from acting as superannuation trustees. In the aftermath of the Royal Commission hearings and APRA's court action, shares in IOOF tumbled more than 35% - to a five year low.
Quinn Emanuel alleges that IOOF's conduct breached its continuous disclosure obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and ASX Listing Rules, and engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct, which resulted in shareholders paying an inflated price for ordinary shares in IOOF.
Damian Scattini, a partner at Quinn Emanuel says, "Management at IOOF must have known that its conduct was risky - legally and reputationally. Yet they persisted and the Board let it pass. The reckoning that began at the Royal Commission now goes to the next stage, with the filing of this class action."
Quinn Emanuel and Regency Group are encouraging all shareholders who acquired shares in IOOF between 27 May 2015 to 9 August 2018 (inclusive) to register their claim against IOOF at www.ioofclassaction.com.au. Shareholders can also contact Quinn Emanuel on +61 2 9146 3500 or by email at IOOFclassaction
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