NY law firm eyes Treasury Wine class action
A high-powered New York law firm is aiming its guns at Australian winemaker Treasury Wine Estates.
A high-powered New York law firm that took down Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in a record $US250m ($390m) settlement over its IPO has aimed its Madison Avenue guns at Australian winemaker Treasury Wine Estates by investigating a shareholder class action against the company.
The Rosen Law Firm, based in New York and sporting a large trophy cabinet of corporate kills, is spruiking for business in a possible class action against Treasury Wine and its alleged lack of disclosure over the winemaker’s financial performance that saw a string of profit downgrades and a collapsing share price.
“When companies and directors violate federal securities laws, the Rosen Law firm makes them pay for their wrongdoings,’’ warns the Rosen Law website.
The potential shareholder class action would mark the third lawsuit against Treasury Wine, with local litigation specialists Slater & Gordon and Maurice Blackburn recently launching their own courtroom actions against the company.
Rosen Law is not gun shy about its record of winning hundreds of millions of dollars for investors.
It publicises that it has in the past recovered $US438.3m ($682m) for investors on 12 securities class action settlements.
On its website it boasts that Institutional Shareholder Services recently reported that the Rosen Law firm was one of the top three in the nation by number of securities class action settlements obtained.
The firm’s leader, Laurence Rosen, formerly from the prestigious New York firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, won big against Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and its alleged misleading of investors in the lead up to its $US25bn IPO in 2014. He has also successfully sued other companies.
“In 2019 alone, (Laurence) Rosen, as sole lead counsel, settled the Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd class action for $US250m — the largest settlement involving a Chinese issuer ever,” the law firm’s website says. “Rosen as co-lead counsel settled the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles class action for $US110m.
“The Rosen Law Firm is well known among its peers for its tough and tenacious representation of investors hurt by a variety of financial wrongdoing.’’
The potential inclusion of a New York law firm with its impressive list of successful shareholder class action lawsuits looks to further distract Treasury Wine’s attention and deplete its resources to fight off lawyers at a time when parts of its businesses are struggling with dwindling wine sales and profitability.
“The Rosen Law Firm is dedicated exclusively to recovering investment losses for investors in public and private companies that have misrepresented material aspects of their business or whose officers and directors have breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders,’’ the law firm’s website says.
In response to the class action lawsuits launched by Slater & Gordon and Maurice Blackburn, Treasury Wine has said it will vigorously defend the actions.
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