Much has been said and written about the Myer securities
class action since Justice Beach's judgment was published on 24
October 2019. This is understandable, given the case is the first
shareholder class action to go to a final judgment in
Australia.
Some have speculated that the decision will open the floodgates
to shareholder class actions, see a spike in D&O insurance
premia and engender confusion amongst boards across corporate
Australia. Such apprehension is understandable, but the
implications of the case are more nuanced. In the words of the
ubiquitous British Government World War II motivational poster,
should we simply 'Keep Calm and Carry On'?
In order to understand the implications of the case, some
familiarity with the facts is helpful. For those who have not pored
over the 381-page judgment, here is a short summary of the key
facts.
