Serco hits the High Court at the start of June in the first s90A securities group action to go to trial. Claimants allege that they were shareholders of Serco and acquired, held, or disposed of shares in Serco between 2006 and 2013, asserting that they suffered loss due to untrue or misleading statements published by Serco. With this being the first case under s90A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) to reach judgment, there are a range of fundamental issues to be addressed, touching on the interpretation of key provisions of the statute. The case also involves novel issues of reliance, loss and quantum, and the identification of persons discharging managerial responsibility.
The case continues the development of securities litigation, which started in 2013 in the high-profile case brought against The Royal Bank of Scotland. It will also provide clarity on the effects of the Autonomy litigation, which considered the issue of reliance.
For institutional investors: Andrew Onslow KC, Calum Mulderrig and Katherine Boucher (3VB) and Shail Patel KC and Carola Binney (4 New Square) instructed by Chris Warren-Smith (Morgan Lewis)
For Serco: Richard Hill KC, Andrew de Mestre KC and Andrew Rose (4 Stone Buildings) instructed by Luke Tolaini and Kelwin Nicholls (Clifford Chance)
