News: Lowe's says Woolworths voted to end JV without consent -court filing

U.S. home improvement chain Lowe's Companies Inc has begun legal proceedings against Australian retailer Woolworths Ltd (WOW) for allegedly voting to end a joint venture without mutual consent, in violation of their partnership agreement.

The court filing comes after Woolworths last week said it would exit the home improvement business, earning A$1.5 billion ($1.14 billion) in gross proceeds via contracts that included the closure their Masters Home Improvement chain joint venture.

It was unclear what resolution Lowe's is seeking through the filing.

Woolworths on Monday said it was aware of the filing and that it had not been served with any related documents. The retailer declined to comment further when contacted on Tuesday.

Lowe's did not respond to a request for comment outside of regular U.S. business hours. A lawyer in Sydney representing Lowe's declined to comment.

In documents filed at Sydney's Federal Court, Lowe's said Woolworths gave its representatives insufficient time to review voluminous paperwork related to the closure, and that Woolworths voted for the closure without those representatives' consent.

It said Woolworths supplied paperwork 24 hours before board meetings on Aug. 23 and 24 that each exceeded 1,000 pages.

Woolworths held the vote on Aug. 24, a day before reporting earnings for 2015, Lowe's said in the filing. The retailer booked a record loss, which included more than $2 billion worth of writedowns in its hardware business.

The pair launched the venture in 2011 to compete with the Bunnings chain of Woolworths rival Wesfarmers Ltd (WES), with Lowe's owning a third.

Woolworths on Jan. 18 said, on terminating the venture, it would be obliged to pay Lowe's the fair value of its stake. Neither party has announced any agreed value in the interim.

A case management hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday.

($1 = 1.3212 Australian dollars)