Auditor PwC awaits Centro ruling Maurice Dunlevy From: The Australian October 14, 2010 12:00AM FORMER Centro auditor PwC should know this week if it can be sued as part of the $1 billion Centro shareholder class actions. The Federal Court decision, likely to be pivotal to the direction of two class actions against Centro Properties Group (CNP) and Centro Retail Group (CER), was flagged yesterday by judge Donnell Ryan.
In March, Justice Ryan reserved his judgment on an application to join PricewaterhouseCoopers to the class actions. Justice Ryan, who was presiding at a Melbourne hearing over CNP and CER claims for legal privilege to documents, said his PwC judgment was likely by the end of the week.
If PwC is joined to the class action, it is expected to launch a round of counterclaims against CNP, CER and Centro executives and directors, some of whom are facing civil charges brought by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. .End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. Centro has made a cross-claim against PwC, alleging that if it was found liable for incorrectly stating accounts, its former auditor was wholly or partly to blame.
CNP Price at posting:
16.0¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
