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It has been described as the darkest chapter in Victoria's legal history, an exemplar of all that is terrible with class actions in Australia. A case of greedy lawyers who found their golden egg in a group of retirees who had lost their life savings, never thinking the chickens might come home to roost. Until now.
Allowing former senior barrister Norman O'Bryan to reopen his defence in the Banksia class action while "avoiding the witness box" was clearly prejudicial, and futile to boot, a judge has said in his reasons for refusing the silk's last-minute application.
Once high-flying barrister Norman O'Bryan might seek to challenge a refusal by the judge overseeing the Banksia class action to revisit his abandoned defence and accept into evidence a document he claims proved he did not secretly hold shares in the funder behind the case.
The litigation funding company controlled by the late solicitor Mark Elliott has told a court of its "remorse and regret" for its misconduct in the Banksia Securities class action, a case that has been described as the "darkest chapter in Victoria's legal history".
The son of Banksia class action funder Mark Elliott was no Michael Corleone of the Godfather, and was not knowingly complicit in an alleged scheme masterminded by his father to defraud group members and destroy evidence, his lawyer has told a court.
Barrister Norman O'Bryan SC has failed in his last-ditch bid to reopen his defence in the Banksia class action to submit evidence he says shows he did not retain an interest in the litigation funder behind the case.
The judge overseeing the trial alleging fraud on the part of barristers and the funder behind a class action over Banksia Securities will be asked to award at least $32 million to the failed property lender's 16,000 debenture holders for the serious misconduct alleged against the lawyers.
The son of Banksia Securities class action funder Mark Elliott questioned his father on whether it was "right" to rip up a $64 million settlement with the collapsed lender's trustee if the deal didn't guarantee him a $12.8 million commission, a court has heard.
Lawyer Alex Elliott has told a judge he didn't know when he postdated cheques for members of the Banksia class action legal team that it was done to mislead the appeals court in the case, but has admitted that in hindsight "it doesn't look good".
The mastermind behind an alleged fraudulent scheme by members of the legal team running the class action over the collapse of Banksia Securities was a "brilliant operator", his son has told a court.