Ross Asset Management (RAM) investors are suing Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), alleging that the bank breached its fiduciary duties to investors. The first legal hurdle has emerged, with ANZ filing a ‘strike-out’ application, asking the court to dismiss the motion entirely.
An LFJ Conversation with Michael Kelley, Partner, Parker Poe
Ross Asset Management (RAM) investors are suing Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), alleging that the bank breached its fiduciary duties to investors. The first legal hurdle has emerged, with ANZ filing a ‘strike-out’ application, asking the court to dismiss the motion entirely.
As reported in ShareChat, the underlying claim involves investors in RAM, who allege that the now-defunct investment vehicle swindled them out of millions of dollars. RAM collapsed in 2012 after it was discovered to essentially be a Ponzi scheme. The $450MM under management had been wiped out, with further losses of $100MM on the books. Thus far, only $10MM has been recovered for investors.
A claimant pool of 500 investors is suing ANZ for $70MM, in a claim that is funded by New Zealand funder LPF Group.
With ANZ’s latest application, the likelihood of a court date before 2021 is looking grim. However RAM investor group spokesman John Strahl noted that he’d rather have this application out of the way now, to ensure the court indeed wants to hear this case, than learn much later in the process that the case should be tossed.
