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May 9, 2008 |
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AMCOR LTD: Lawyers Told to Correct Cartel Suit Allegations Lawyers running the class action against Amcor Ltd. and Visy Industries have been ordered to publish corrective statements relating to the case, and a Federal Court judge has ordered the period during which businesses can opt out of the litigation to be extended by a month, The Australian reports. According to The Australian's Susannah Moran, the directive from the court is likely to cost law firm Maurice Blackburn Cashman about AUD60,000. The report relates that Visy brought the recent court action, accusing Maurice Blackburn lawyer Ben Slade of spreading misleading information relating to the potential amount of damages in the class action, after he was quoted in two media publications. The Australian recounts that Maurice Blackburn is running the case, which was filed over alleged price fixing in the cardboard box market, on behalf of lead applicant Jarra Creek and other businesses involved that choose to continue with the suit. Specifically, the class action suit was filed in April 2006 against Amcor, Visy, Amcor Packaging (Australia) Ltd., and Fibre Containers (Queensland) Pty Ltd., by the firm and seeks damages for the victims of the cartel conduct that spanned four years from 2000. Mr. Slade did not deny making the comments attributed to him and agreed one comment was inaccurate and said he would not repeat comments that referred to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleging an overcharging of between 8% and 23%. "In considering this application, I am conscious of the uncertainty which must surround any quantification of damages at such an early stage in the proceeding, before the settlement of pleadings, return of subpoenas, full discovery and filing of evidence," Justice Brian Tamberlin said. "However, it is necessary to ensure that the appraisal by an applicant (or any group member in a representative proceeding) of its position is not artificially inflated as to the likely monetary rewards which will flow from the litigation." The judge said Mr. Slade's statements "are capable, on one reading, of misleading group members". The Class Action Reporter reported on Oct. 6, 2006, that Maurice Blackburn estimated that businesses incurred damages of between AUD2 million and AUD3 million as a result of anti-competitive practices in the industry. A subsequent CAR report on March 14, 2008, stated that retailers, manufacturers and transporters who used products by Amcor and Visy while the two companies maintained a price-fixing cartel will be given the choice to opt out of the $300-million class action lawsuit. According to the Australian Financial Review, Maurice Blackburn received court approval to issue the opt-out notices. On November 2, 2007, a previous Inside Retailing report recounted, the Federal Court accepted a plea deal between the ACCC and Visy and fined the Visy Board of Directors and its owner, Richard Pratt, $36 million. Visy Board executives Harry Debney and Rod Carroll were fined $1.5 million and $500,000 respectively. The ACCC had earlier granted Amcor and its former senior executives immunity from prosecution for blowing the whistle on the cartel and cooperating with the ACCC's extensive investigation. |
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