In Australia, phones are ringing off the hook at class action litigation funder IMF (Australia) Ltd. IMF board member Hugh McLernon says IMF has experienced an “exponential” rise in the number of calls from shareholders who believe they have a claim against corporations since the bear market began, WA Today reports.
IMF, Australia’s largest litigation funder, now has 10 people taking calls all day. The publicly-traded IMF has seen its own share price rise 42 per cent since the market peaked in November 2007, and expects to see its revenues jump in the down market. “Litigation averages three years, so the result we reported was from the bull market,” Mr McLernon said. “All the cases we’ve settled or finalized through the courts are all from the period before the end of 2007.”
IMF reportedly has $1 billion in claims over shareholder losses coming to fruition in the coming weeks, he said.
