On 1 September 2011, Justice Judd of the Victorian Supreme Court
handed down judgment in the long-running class action issued by
investors against various companies in the failed Timbercorp group,
as well as directors of those companies. In the proceeding,
thousands of investors had sought to be released from their ongoing
liability to make loan repayments to Timbercorp Finance totalling
several hundred million dollars, and other compensation.
Although the judgment related only to a preliminary trial of
certain agreed common issues, His Honour's decision was so
adverse to the interests of the investors that it effectively
dismissed the claims of the class.
The representative plaintiff alleged that Timbercorp had failed
to disclose information about risks that it was required to
disclose in accordance with its statutory obligations. At trial,
his counsel sought to argue that the Timbercorp group had a
"fragile business model" which made its capital
management
