Westpoint class action against planners imminent
Law firm Slater and Gordon has confirmed that it will launch its class action against financial planners whose clients were exposed to failed Westpoint investments as soon as next month.
Lawyer Ben Whitwell said: “We are still in discussions as to when we will be doing things, but I daresay something will happen within the next three weeks.”
He added: “It’s still being defined at the moment as to how [the class action] will proceed and who it will proceed against, but it’s very close to being decided.”
Whitwell also confirmed that IMF would fund the action, although he said “there were still some fine points to be worked out”.
According to Whitwell, the class action could represent as many as 1,000 investors who lost money through Westpoint investments. He said: “The last I heard IMF had about 600 people, and I think we are sitting on between 200-300. I’m not entirely sure, but I believe it will be in that vicinity.”
More recently, Slater and Gordon has been representing Telstra shareholders in a class action against the telecommunications company for its failure to release sensitive financial information to the Australian Stock Exchange.
In addition, at the 2004 Special Commission of Inquiry into James Hardie, Slater and Gordon represented unions and asbestos support groups on a pro bono basis.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is also in the process of investigating planners associated with schemes offered by Westpoint.
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