Consolidated group proceeding brought on behalf of those persons who, at any time during the period from 7 December 2014 to the halt in trading in Freedom Foods shares on 24 June 2020, acquired an interest in fully paid up ordinary shares in the first defendant (Noumi, formerly known as Freedom Foods), and suffered loss or damage as a result of the defendants’ alleged conduct.
The alleged conduct is the making, over the claim period, of various financial representations to the ASX (including as to the value of Noumi’s assets, stock inventory balances, trade receivables and doubtful debts, revenue, trade and other payables, goodwill and employee share scheme) which were inaccurate, and therefore constituted misleading or deceptive conduct and breaches of Noumi’s continuous disclosure obligations.
The second defendant (Deloitte) over the claim period audited Noumi’s accounts and declared in formal statements their accuracy and compliance with accounting standards. The claim alleges this separately constitutes misleading or deceptive conduct. The plaintiffs and group members claim loss sustained by purchasing shares in Noumi which were inflated in value due to the alleged conduct.
This proceeding is a consolidation of two prior proceedings, being S ECI 2020 04505 Nicholas Gehrke v Freedom Foods Group Limited & Anor and S ECI 2021 00431 Lester Buch v Freedom Foods Group Limited & Anor. These proceedings were consolidated by order of the Honourable Justice Nichols on 18 November 2021.
The deadline to register or opt out has now passed.
The deadline to object to the proposed settlement has now passed.
The Court will have a hearing on 17 April 2025 at 10:00am AEST to determine whether to approve the proposed settlement.
Please note that the deadline to object to the proposed settlement has now passed.
On 23 January 2025, the Court approved a Notice of Proposed Settlement to be sent to group members. Group members should read the Notice carefully as the matters set out in the notice may affect their legal rights.
If you are content with the proposed settlement, and do not want to object to it, you do not need to do anything in response to the Notice.
Any group member who wishes to object to the proposed settlement must, by no later than 4:00pm (AEDT) on 1 April 2025, either:
- complete the online objection notice; or
- complete the ‘Notice of Objection’ form found at the end of the Notice above, and send it to the Court by email or post at the addresses on the form.
Any group member who wishes to object must also attend, or have their legal representative attend the settlement approval hearing (unless the Court orders otherwise), which is on 17 April 2025 at 10:00am (AEST) in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Further details regarding the hearing will be published on this webpage closer to the hearing date.
Please note that the deadline to register or opt out has now passed
If you are, or you think that you may be a group member, you should read the Notice (a copy of which is below) carefully before taking any further step.
The Notice contains important information about your rights to:
(1) register your interest in the proceeding; or
(2) opt out of the proceeding.
In summary, if you fall within the definition of a group member:
- Option 1: You must register your interest in accordance with the Notice by
4:00pm AEDT on Wednesday, 15 November 2023 to be eligible to receive compensation if there is a settlement between the parties at the upcoming mediation. For further information on how to register, please refer to paragraphs 4.2 - 4.8 in the Notice below. - Option 2: You will remain a group member unless you take steps to opt out by
4:00pm AEDT on Wednesday, 15 November 2023. For further information about opting out, please refer to paragraphs 4.9 - 4.14 in the Notice below.
The definition of a “group member” is set out in the Notice.
Notice to Group Members: Amendment to Funding Scheme in the Noumi (Freedom Foods) Group Proceeding (Class Action)
Group Costs Order made by the Honourable Justice Nichols dated 8 November 2022 in the Noumi (Freedom Foods) Group Proceeding (Class Action)
Defence to Third Party Notice filed on 13 May 2022 in the Noumi (Freedom Foods) Group Proceeding (Class Action)
Third Party Notice filed by Deloitte to Noumi filed on 12 April 2022 in the Noumi (Freedom Foods) Group Proceeding (Class Action)
Defence filed by Deloitte on 8 April 2022 in the Noumi (Freedom Foods) Group Proceeding (Class Action)
Notice of Contribution filed by Noumi on 8 April 2022 in the Noumi (Freedom Foods) Group Proceeding (Class Action)
Defence filed by Noumi on 8 April 2022 in the Noumi (Freedom Foods) Group Proceeding (Class Action)
Group Proceeding Summary Statement filed on 16 December 2022 in the Noumi (Freedom Foods) Group Proceeding (Class Action)
Updated Funding Information Summary Statement dated 15 February 2023 in the Noumi (Freedom Foods) Group Proceeding (Class Action)
Consolidation orders made by the Honourable Justice Nichols on 18 November 2021 in the Noumi (Freedom Foods) Group Proceeding (Class Action)
Consolidated Writ and Statement of Claim filed on 16 December 2021 in the Noumi (Freedom Foods) Group Proceeding (Class Action)