The lead applicant in a shareholder class action against global engineering firm CIMIC Group has made a bid for indemnity costs, after a last-minute subpoena of three former executives led to the trial being vacated.
The Full Court has denied a bid by Deep Investments to vary orders dismissing its case against a solicitor and six others over $10 million in alleged share trading losses, saying this would amount to allowing the investment adviser to bring a different claim.
Global engineering firm CIMIC Group has been hit with costs after a last-minute subpoena of three new potential witnesses caused the three-week trial that was due to commence later this month to be vacated.
A judge has reprimanded CIMIC Group’s preparations to defend a class action against it, saying a late attempt to file critical evidence was a sign something “pretty horrible” had gone on behind the scenes.
The firm running the class action against Fitch Ratings over SCDO products has been given the go ahead to add claims of fraud and deceit after lawyers allegedly unearthed a hidden mathematical table the agency used in assigning ratings to the toxic financial products.
Facing cross-examination over the law firm’s bid to add fraud and deceit claims to a class action against Fitch Ratings, a Squire Patton Boggs lawyer exchanged fire with a barrister for the ratings agency, saying Fitch was having a regular “whinge” about discovery and “no” she would not take the comment back.