Sydney firm Levitt Robinson has come out fighting this week, accusing Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and rival firm Slater & Gordon of foul play in relation to the failed investment company Storm Financial.
Some might recall the high profile demise of Storm Financial, a Townsville based financial investment company that lost billions during the GFC, leaving 14,000 or so investors high and dry. In February this year Slater & Gordon came up with a proposed resolution scheme on behalf of the victims with CBA. But Levett Robinson claimed that this was inadeqate, and four months later (around the time that former S&G employee Julia Gillard was being lodged in the Lodge) filed a class action against the bank on behalf of some of the investors.
Since then there has been no love lost between the firms, and this week name partner Stewart Levitt accused S&G of trying to poach his clients and conclude its deal with CBA. In an open letter he said that "if CBA and Slater & Gordon could achieve this outcome, the joint proposals by Slater & Gordon and CBA, as reflecting the low end price which CBA would be happy to pay to buy Storm Borrowers' claims against the bank, might well be accepted without further negotiation or litigation: My clients resistance would then have been broken".
S&G denies his claim. In a statement to Lawyers Weekly a spokesman said that "given that independent evaluation and arbitration are features of the scheme, Slater & Gordon has always maintained the best way to deal with claims against the CBA is through the Resolution Scheme rather than drawn out litigation". It promises to be a great fight...
Tip Off ROF
Some might recall the high profile demise of Storm Financial, a Townsville based financial investment company that lost billions during the GFC, leaving 14,000 or so investors high and dry. In February this year Slater & Gordon came up with a proposed resolution scheme on behalf of the victims with CBA. But Levett Robinson claimed that this was inadeqate, and four months later (around the time that former S&G employee Julia Gillard was being lodged in the Lodge) filed a class action against the bank on behalf of some of the investors.
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Fowl play yesterday |
Since then there has been no love lost between the firms, and this week name partner Stewart Levitt accused S&G of trying to poach his clients and conclude its deal with CBA. In an open letter he said that "if CBA and Slater & Gordon could achieve this outcome, the joint proposals by Slater & Gordon and CBA, as reflecting the low end price which CBA would be happy to pay to buy Storm Borrowers' claims against the bank, might well be accepted without further negotiation or litigation: My clients resistance would then have been broken".
S&G denies his claim. In a statement to Lawyers Weekly a spokesman said that "given that independent evaluation and arbitration are features of the scheme, Slater & Gordon has always maintained the best way to deal with claims against the CBA is through the Resolution Scheme rather than drawn out litigation". It promises to be a great fight...