Latest / Best of Business / Scott Russell: Lawyer involved in class action lawsuit against major banks on ASB paying $135.6 million to settle suit

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Scott Russell: Lawyer involved in class action lawsuit against major banks on ASB paying $135.6 million to settle suit · Best of Business

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  Speaker 2: ASB has agreed to pay more than one hundred and
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  Speaker 2: thirty five million dollars to settle a class action lawsuit. Now,
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  Speaker 2: this is the legal action representing about one hundred and
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  Speaker 2: seventy thousand kiwis which has been taken against ASB and
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  Speaker 2: A and Z who've been accused of breaching responsible lending rules.
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  Speaker 2: Scott Russell is the lawyer representing bank customers in the
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  Speaker 2: class action and is with us. Hey, Scotty, why do
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  Speaker 2: you think ASB has agreed to settle?
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  Speaker 3: Oh? Look, it's a commercial resolution that concludes over four
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  Speaker 3: years of litigation and really provides certainty for both parties.
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  Speaker 2: How many customers of ASB have you got here?
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  Speaker 3: Well, the action is an opt out action, which is,
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  Speaker 3: as you probably know, a type of lawsuit where all
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  Speaker 3: individuals who meet the criteria automatically included as part of
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  Speaker 3: the class. So it's actually going to be a matter
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  Speaker 3: for courts to determine a in the coming weeks. What
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  Speaker 3: the number is?
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  Speaker 2: Ah, Okay, so you can't look at one thirty five
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  Speaker 2: mil and then say, divided by X number customers, they
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  Speaker 2: will get so much. We don't know any of that yet.
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  Speaker 3: I can't swer that at that stage, that this stage,
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  Speaker 3: know that it'll be determined by the court in the
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  Speaker 3: coming weeks.
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  Speaker 2: Why is A and Z not doing the same, Well, that's.
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  Speaker 3: A good question, and that's something we'll certainly be reaching
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  Speaker 3: out and asking A and Z. But we remain fully
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  Speaker 3: committed to our claim against A and Z, continue to
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  Speaker 3: fight that. But A and Z customers deserve a positive
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  Speaker 3: outcome here similar to that which has been achieved for
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  Speaker 3: ASB Scott.
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  Speaker 2: The Government cannot surely continue with its law change, can
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  Speaker 2: it now that ASB has settled.
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  Speaker 3: Well, the Senate Committee's due to report back to Parliament
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  Speaker 3: on the twentieth of October, and am Z is now
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  Speaker 3: the only known lender facing active litigation that would benefit
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  Speaker 3: from this proposed respective law change. So it would be
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  Speaker 3: very unclear why the Government would intervene, reach back and
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  Speaker 3: change the law to protect one large Australian owned bank.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, particularly when you think that ASB has said, yep,
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  Speaker 2: we have to sett all this, we have to sett
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  Speaker 2: all this. A and Z is there. So if the bank, sorry,
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  Speaker 2: if the government was to change the law, they would
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  Speaker 2: be looking that and still still making the argument that
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  Speaker 2: A and Z alone has to be protected. That's essentially
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  Speaker 2: the nut of it, isn't it.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's right. I mean the sentiment is still subject
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  Speaker 3: to ord approval and it's made with no missions of
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  Speaker 3: liability on the part of ASB. But yeah, subject to that.
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  Speaker 3: You're correct, all.
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  Speaker 2: Right, Scott, Thanks very much. Scott Russell, lawyer representing bank
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  Speaker 2: customers in the class action. None of it or nub
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  Speaker 2: of it your choice now. ASB says it has made
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  Speaker 2: no admission of liability or wrongdoing. Its chief executive says
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  Speaker 2: the settlement provides certainty for the bank and its customers.
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  Speaker 2: A and Z has sent us a statement they say
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  Speaker 2: Asb's decision to settle as a commercial decision for them.
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  Speaker 2: A and Z New Zealand will continue to defend its case.
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  Speaker 2: Our position hasn't changed. The potential consequences under the current
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  Speaker 2: law are disproportionate, not aligned within the actual harm caused
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  Speaker 2: in the risk posed by the wording of the current
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  Speaker 2: legislation has been widely discussed from a political perspective. I
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  Speaker 2: am fascinated in how Scott Simpson is going to defend
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  Speaker 2: his position in changing the law retrospectively, which is quite
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  Speaker 2: a wild thing to do. It doesn't get done very often.
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  Speaker 2: How he can persist in doing that? For One Australian
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  Speaker 2: Bank six eleven.
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