Phi Finney McDonald and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan jointly act for the Representative Plaintiffs and Group Members in a class action against Medibank Private Ltd (Medibank) commenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria on behalf of investors who acquired shares in Medibank between 1 July 2019 and 25 October 2022 (inclusive) (Claim Period).
Opt Out and Registration
On 2 September 2024, the Supreme Court of Victoria made orders that notice be given to group members of their rights to opt out of or register their claims in the Medibank Shareholder Class Action.
A group member in the Medibank Shareholder Class Action is a person or entity who during the period from 1 July 2019 to 25 October 2022 (inclusive) (Claim Period) either:
- acquired an interest in ordinary shares in Medibank Private Limited (ASX:MPL) (Medibank shares); or
- acquired long exposure to Medibank shares by entering into equity swap confirmations in respect of Medibank shares.
Linked below is a copy of the Registration & Opt Out Notice issued by the Court. It is important that you read this document carefully, because the matters set out in the Notice may affect your legal rights in relation to the Medibank Shareholder Class Action.
The Class Deadline to opt out of or register in the Medibank Shareholder Class Action is 4:00 pm (AEDT) on Friday, 1 November 2024.
The Court has ordered that the parties attend a mediation by 31 March 2025.
If you do not register by the Class Deadline, you will remain a group member in the class action but, subject to further order of the Court, you will not be entitled to obtain any benefit arising from any settlement reached by the parties at any point up to three months after the first day of mediation.
If you no longer wish to be a group member of the Medibank Shareholder Class Action, you can opt out of the class action. Refer to the Notice for details on how to opt out.
Background
On 13 October 2022, Medibank issued an ASX release disclosing a “cyber incident” (the Breach).
Subsequent releases over October and November disclosed that the personal data of approximately 9.7 million current and former customers and the health claims data of approximately 480,000 customers was taken in the Breach. The hackers have since made personal and health claims data available on the dark web.
From market close on 19 October 2022 when Medibank went into a trading halt, to 26 October 2022 when the suspension was lifted, Medibank’s share price dropped more than 18% after details of the Breach were released.
Allegations
The class action alleges that Medibank breached its continuous disclosure obligations and engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to the adequacy of its privacy and information security protections. It is separate to the privacy litigation brought by Medibank customers whose personal and health information was accessed in the data breach.
The class action alleges that investors who acquired an interest in Medibank shares during the Claim Period are entitled to compensation for loss and damage as they paid more for those shares than they would have paid as a consequence of Medibank’s conduct. The class action also alleges that some group members would not have purchased Medibank shares if Medibank had complied with its obligations.
Consolidation
The representative plaintiffs were previously the representative plaintiffs in two separate but overlapping class actions against Medibank.
On 6 September 2023, the Court ordered the consolidation of the two competing class actions. The consolidating proceeding is Robert Laird Kilah and Brendan Francis Sinnamon v Medibank Private Ltd, S ECI 2023 01227.
Class Action Information and Registration
Current and former investors who acquired an interest in Medibank shares between 1 July 2019 and 25 October 2022 inclusive are invited to register their participation in the class action.
If you have any questions regarding the matter and the registration process, please read the Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for Group Members or contact us by emailing medibankshareholders@phifinneymcdonald.com.