Beware of past mistakes
Financialplanners are still in danger of being held accountable for past wrongs and could still face jail terms and fines according to a Queensland lawyer.
Quinn and Scattini associate Michal Horvath says more than 200 cases are being prosecuted in Queensland alone and that planners can be still picked up for perceived wrong doings extending as far back as six years.
Horvath says debate is currently underway in the state regarding when legal timeframes expire but planners should not think that what is in the past will always remain there.
According to Horvath, the main issue affecting financial planners is misrepresentation, but they should be aware of negligence, duty of care, breach, causation and damage.
As further evidence of the possibility that past events could end up in court Horvath highlighted the recent Hartley/Ali case and pointed to the time between the events and the court action.
He says the recent case was not groundbreaking, as there are similar cases of fraud in the US and it was highly likely that Australia would see similar events in our own courts.
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