Lawyers In Arms Over Telstra Deal
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The recent class action settled by Testra regarding third-party use of its broadband internet lines should never have started, and Telstra shouldn’t have had its $1.25 million legal fees paid, according to Maurice Blackburn’s chairman who lashed out at rival Slater & Gordon at a legal conference.

The surrender to Telstra left shareholders with compo of about a cent a share for equities bought when Telstra should have exposed its problems to the market.

Blackburn’s Bernard Murphy said there had been little sign of “greenmail” in Australia.

He said his class-action specialist firm follows a policy where it sues only when the “misconduct is egregious and the losses severe”.

Slater & Gordon director Ken Fowlie said the decision to pursue this action was not taken lightly and “we feel entirely comfortable that we have met the professional obligations to the court and clients throughout the conduct of the case”.