THE class action against the failed Banksia Securities Limited finance company is not likely to go to the Supreme Court until next year, the solicitor co-ordinating the case says.
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Mark Elliott said the claim against Banksia and others associated with the failed company was for $150 million.
Mr Elliott said opposition to the latest proposed statement of claim by two of the defendants in the case — TrustCo, which was the trustee for both Banksia and Statewide Secured Investments, which was bought by Banksia, and Banksia’s auditors RSD Chartered Accountants — was likely to delay the start of a court trial.
In other developments in the case, Mr Elliott said on the class action’s website that he was unable to continue personally funding the case and, more importantly, to meet any significant security for the immediate payment of costs that might be ordered by the Supreme Court.
Mr Elliott said he had recently arranged for a group of experienced and financially strong investors to invest $2 million in a new public company that had agreed to fund the class action.
He said a company associated with his family was among the investors and he was one of the three directors of the new company that was called BSL Litigation Partners Limited.
Laurence Bolitho, who was lead plaintiff representing the Banksia investors taking the class action, had recently agreed to appoint the company as the funder of the class action, Mr Elliott said.
He said the agreement proposed, subject to court approval, that BSL Litigation Partners be entitled to the recovery of its legal costs and disbursements plus a 30 per cent fee out of the net settlement or judgment proceeds if the class action was successful.
If unsuccessful, BSL would not be entitled to recover any money it had spent on the case.
Mr Elliott said he would continue to act on a no win/no fee basis but BSL Litigation Partners would pay for costs such as counsels’ fees and witness expenses.