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Class action against IOOF discontinued
A class action brought by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan on behalf of IOOF shareholders has been resolved.
Jerome Doraisamy
Just over one year ago, business litigation and arbitration firm Quinn Emanuel launched an action against wealth management company IOOF Holdings in the wake of evidence given at the Hayne royal commission.
Following the lodgement of those allegations at the royal commission, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) launched legal proceedings against those subsidiaries and directors of IOOF, seeking – among other things – to disqualify those directors from acting as superannuation trustees.
IOOF responded to the class action at the time by calling it “speculative and without foundation”, arguing it did not engage in misleading and deceptive conduct.
In an ASX announcement on Monday, IOOF said it had reached an agreement for the class action to be discontinued with no order as to costs, with court approval of the settlement still pending.
“IOOF is making no payment to the plaintiff, its lawyers, its funder or any other class member as part of this settlement,” it noted, adding that “IOOF is very pleased with the outcome”.
Responding to the outcome, Quinn Emanuel partner Damian Scattini said that the APRA proceeding was “conducted in a surprising manner and it resulted in an unexpected outcome”.
In a statement provided to Lawyers Weekly’s sister brand Investor Daily, Mr Scattini said: “Given the APRA decision, our client determined that it was no longer in the interests of group members to continue. The settlement specifically allows any shareholder or former shareholder who wishes to do so to file a claim, whether individually or as a class.”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. In June 2024, he also assumed the editorship of HR Leader. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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