BUT, are you aware that liabilities of the kind alleged in this class action are typically insured in the case of public companies like centro?
seriously mate - apart from any fleeting impact on investor sentiment, this legal liability class action claim has got to be the ALL TIME DEAD DUCK ISSUE on cnp!
this sort of claim may come under, among others, a garden variety directors and officers/company reimbursement liability policy which ALL public companies carry. the claim may also fall under the protection of a dedicated legal compliance liability insurance policy. the insurers pick up the liability tab, run the defence and even pay all the legal costs. much of the heavy weight commercial litigation run in the courts these days is paid for and run by insurers.
there is no reason to believe centro is not insured for this claim, so it follows that if this claim ever gets anywhere it probably WILL NOT COST CENTRO A ZACK - GET IT?
as many cnp-ites have already noted, there are a myriad of contingencies and legal obstacles bearing on liability and quantum issues in a claim of this nature. those with legal experience will appreciate just what a house of cards these sorts of claims are. they will see that even if this claim was not insured, it is STILL A DEAD DUCK ISSUE given the nature (ie. heavily contingent) and realistic (ie very low) potential quantum of the claim. even the good claims are grindingy difficult, time consuming and risky to run - happily for cnp, thats the reality of our legal system!
yes Sacophagus - i doubt anyone would say the litigation is a 'plus'......but as to liability?
cnp clearly does not concede it incorrectly classified the debt and has no doubt been advised accordingly by its lawyers, thereby forcing the hand of the plaintiff's to issue the class action.
a legal case that is a clear "winner" is rare thing in civil litigation, hence the statistical facts that: - more than 9 out of ten civil cases issued never get to trial - more than half of those that get to trial settle before judgement - class action are even less likely to get to trial.
typical of these disputes will be a myriad of complex legal arguments 'for' and 'against' prepared by leading barristers (ie. QC/SC's at $15,000 per day), a ton of messy documents and disputed evidence, and some poor overworked judge that has to crunch through it all before deciding (with enourmous discretion) the case.
most litigants are not prepared to roll the dice and go to trial. many such cases settle on the making of a 'nuisance value' or token settlement payment that only covers the lawyers costs.
cheers
CNP Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
