Claimants in Feltex case seek delay

WELLINGTON: Aggrieved Feltex investors have sought a lastminute delay to the second part of a decadelong claim scheduled to start in the High Court at Wellington this morning.

Eric Houghton’s $185 million claim on behalf of more than 3000 Feltex Carpets shareholders is now at the valuation or quantum stage after the Supreme Court ruled last year the carpetmaker’s 2004 prospectus had an untrue statement and that could lead to liability under the Securities Act.

Feltex collapsed less than two years after going public, and the investor claim against directors and promoters was begun in 2008.

More than a decade later, in a hearing starting this week, Justice Robert Dobson is supposed to hear arguments and evidence on how much the investors say they have lost.

However, according to the investor side’s opening submissions dated October 31, it has sought adjournment.

The investor claimants say they need more time to appeal a Court of Appeal decision which ruled out some expert evidence that the investor claimants want to use.

Tony Gavigan, who is funding the litigation through Joint Action Funding, said earlier this year the evidence was needed for the claimants to obtain insurance for the next stage of the trial.

The submissions for this morning’s hearing also say the evidence is ‘‘important and substantially helpful’’ to the investors in making the claims for their loss.

‘‘Currently, the stage two case is not ready for trial and the plaintiff does not have the resources supporting him or the claimants to safely commit to trial,’’ the submissions signed by the investors’ barrister Colin Carruthers QC say.

‘‘The plaintiff, therefore, considers that the application for adjournment should be granted in the interests of justice and interests of access to justice by 3639 (mainly small investor) claimants.’’

The lawyers for the defendants — who include former Feltex directors Timothy Saunders, Samual Magill, John Feeney, Craig Horrocks, Peter Hunter, Peter Thomas and Joan Withers, as well as two Credit Suisse entities which acted as promoters and vendors — were not immediately available for comment. — BusinessDesk