Litigation financier IMF Australia says it will fund new claims against Lehman Brothers Asia on behalf of 63 churches, councils and charities, including the cities of Swan and Melville.
The new action seeks to reverse a decision by liquidators to absolve Lehman Asia of liability for losses not recoverable from the collapse of investment house Lehman Brothers Australia.
"The proofs of debt include a claim that Lehman Asia was knowingly involved in the breaches of fiduciary duty of Lehman Brothers Australia Ltd (in liquidation) and is therefore liable for losses not able to be recovered from Lehman Australia,” IMF said in a statement.
The legal action comes after a plan to return $210 million to Australian clients of Lehman Brothers, announced earlier this year, was blocked at the last minute by the investment bank’s US arm.
Creditors were eligible to receive up to 39.9 cents and 49.2 cents for each dollar they invested under the blocked proposal.
The new claims have been filed in the High Court of Hong Kong.
