Sources claim costs have doubled
RBS facing £90m legal bill over shareholder action
Royal Bank of Scotland is understood to be facing a legal bill of at least £90 million from Herbert Smith Freehills which is defending it in a £4 billion battle with shareholders.
The figure is double the previous estimate of approximately £48m and represents the firm’s costs for the trial due to begin in December 2016.
Sources in the legal profession say even this latest figure was “on the low side” given the fees expected to rack up if subsequent court applications are made.
It is understood that HSF has about 160 lawyers and fee-earners working on the case, reviewing six million documents related to shareholders’ claims against the bank’s 2008 rights issue.
Claimants claim the bank’s £12bn share issue was defective and contained material misstatements and omissions.
They are being represented by Stewarts Law, Signature Litigation, Leon Kaye and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
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So RBS s lawyers are suggesting to their cash loaded bosses that the best solution is to spend more money on lawyers in the hope that the largest pension funds and most reputable Quinnn Emmanuel will decide that the chance of getting back 70% of the Rights issue money is worth more than the legal expenses.
What rules in life are incentives?
What incentive does Herbaceous have in putting the business first?
This is becoming a farce. Some bloke at a AGM said that the business was run by accountants and lawyers feasting through shareholders wealth and pocketbooks whilst offering nothing in return.
Time for a sensible judge to cut herbaceous down to size for frivolous and vexacious time wasting tactics. The proof is there already and trying to find extenuating documents to cover it up in the few days before its issuance is trying to make just another lie upon a lie.
Doubling up on lies does not the truth make.
The interest at 8% per year outweighs such delays so a sensible business decision for HMT and the existing shareholders is Is paying cash worth more than equity issuance to settle this farce.
I expect the Pinnochios to aggressively deny and prevail over the selected poodles overseeing. Can’t see the long wood for the trees.