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Worley Limited Shareholder Class Action

Shine Lawyers is conducting a class action seeking compensation on behalf of affected persons who acquired shares in Worley Limited (ASX:WOR — formerly known as WorleyParsons) between 14 August 2013 and 19 November 2013.

UPDATE

On 11 March 2022, the Full Federal Court awarded a victory to shareholders in the Worley Limited Shareholder Class Action. Although the Federal Court had dismissed the claim at first instance, Shine Lawyers successfully appealed Justice Gleeson’s decision.

On 8 April 2022, Worley filed an application for special leave to appeal the Full Federal Court’s judgment in the High Court of Australia. Shine Lawyers will update group members in relation to the High Court’s decision regarding Worley’s special leave application once it is known.

What is the Worley Class Action about?

Shine Lawyers is seeking compensation for shareholders who acquired Worley (ASX:WOR) shares between 14 August and 19 November 2013. It is alleged WOR failed to inform the market of its true earning position and did not have reasonable grounds for its forecasts in August and October 2013.

Background

In its 2013 annual report, released on 14 August 2013, WOR announced a FY2013 profit of $322 million and that it expected to achieve improved earnings across all sectors in FY2014.

On 10 October 2013, WOR held a strategy presentation for the investment community, reiterating that it expected "improved earnings FY14 across all sectors".

On 20 November 2013, WOR issued a release to the ASX announcing a downgraded forecast underlying NPAT for FY2014 of $260 million to $300 million.

The corrective disclosure of 20 November 2013 represented a 7% to 19% profit downgrade against its FY2013 result.

The class action alleges this disclosure resulted in a 26% fall in the WOR share price, from $21.59 to $16. The price drop reduced the market cap of WOR by $1.375 billion.

Can I join the Worley Limited Shareholder Class Action?

Registrations for this class action are closed, however, in light of the successful appeal we will consider seeking further orders from the Court to allow us to take additional registrations.

Shine Lawyers' Worley Limited Shareholder Class Action Team

The Worley Limited Shareholder Class Action Team includes some of the firm’s most experienced solicitors and support staff. The team includes:

Craig Allsopp profile
Craig Allsopp
Jonathan Wertheim profile
Jonathan Wertheim
Christina McLellan profile
Christina McLellan

Common Questions

There are three criteria that need to be fulfilled for a class action to take place:

  • There must be seven or more people claiming;
  • The claims must arise out of the same, similar, or related circumstances; and
  • The claim must relate to at least one common issue of law or fact.

Class actions in Australia work on an opt-out model. This means that all potential claimants become group members of the action whether they intend to participate or not. These group members are bound by the judgment of the court or settlement unless they opt-out. The group members in a class action are usually notified about the class action by order of the Court.

Due to the size of each individual claim, the costs of running this action as an individual would quickly exceed the potential damages recoverable. As each group member’s claim involves many common questions of fact and law, running this action as a class reduces the average cost of litigation to a client by only addressing the common issues once at trial, instead of multiple times.

Due to the nature of class actions, the first stage of the proceedings can take between twelve months to three years or more from its commencement.

Unless a settlement is reached, the first stage will only resolve the representative’s claims and the common issues of the proceedings, with group member claims to be resolved individually at a second stage of the proceedings.

No. If the claim is unsuccessful, the litigation funder will become liable to pay any adverse costs on behalf of all claimants and any costs the litigation funder has paid up until that point will not have to be repaid. Regardless of the outcome, the litigation funder and Shine Lawyers will only be repaid from any settlement proceeds, not out of the claimants’ pockets.

Shine Lawyers was founded in 1976 in Queensland, with Shine Justice listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2013. As one of Australia’s largest litigation law firms, Shine Lawyers is comprised of a hardworking, straight-talking team of people who have the clout to take on Australia’s biggest cases.

The lawyers running this action at Shine Lawyers are led by Jan Saddler, a solicitor with almost 30 years’ experience in Australia and the United Kingdom running complex legal disputes.

Jan has worked for one of the largest commercial law firms in Australia, where she was involved in several class actions and multi-party disputes. She has also worked at a global professional services firms as an in-house lawyer, running and managing disputes involving claims worth more than $250 million.

Since joining Shine Lawyers in 2011, Jan and her team have delivered exceptional results for everyday Australians. These include high profile outcomes against Johnson & Johnson / Ethicon for defective mesh implants, as well as for the people of Oakey and Katherine affected by PFAS contamination.