To view the PDF file, sign up for a MySharenet subscription.

TIGER BRANDS LIMITED - Progress on the Class Action Certification Process

Release Date: 14/08/2018 15:45
Code(s): TBS     PDF:  
Wrap Text
Progress on the Class Action Certification Process

TIGER BRANDS LIMITED
(“Tiger Brands” or “the Company”)
Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa
Registration number 1944/017881/06)
Share code: TBS
ISIN: ZAE000071080

Progress on the Class Action Certification Process

The legal representatives of both the Company and the claimants in
the two separate Listeriosis Class Actions met with the Deputy
Judge President of the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court,
Johannesburg, yesterday. The meeting was convened at the request
of the parties to discuss the conduct of the matter.

The attorneys acting for the different applicants in the two
separate applications for certification, Richard Spoor Inc and LHL
Attorneys Inc, have now agreed to combine into a single
certification application. They will thus jointly represent all
the applicants and, as a result, the application by LHL Attorneys
Inc will be discontinued.

At the above meeting, the parties advised the Deputy Judge
President that they have agreed on the broad terms of a draft
certification order. The next step in the certification
proceedings is for the allocation of a Judge who will convene a
hearing to consider the proposed order.

It is noted that the draft order agreed between the parties simply
allows the certification action to proceed. In terms of the
proposed order, it is envisaged that four distinct groups of
persons will constitute classes for the purposes of the Class
Action. These four classes encompass all claimants who could
potentially have a claim against the Company. It is expressly
recorded in the draft order that the terms of the order do not
constitute an admission of liability by the Company to any class
or member of a class.

Subject to the approval and granting of the certification order,
the Class Action will then proceed in two stages. The first stage
is to determine whether or not the Company is liable. Anyone who
thinks they have a claim, but who does not wish to participate in
the Class Action, must expressly opt out of the Class Action by
notifying the claimants’ attorneys formally. If at the end of the
first stage, it is determined that the Company is liable in
respect of all or any of the four classes, then all claimants who
had not opted out will thus be bound by that ruling.

Following on from this, and assuming the Company is held liable,
the Class Action will then proceed to the second stage, namely to
determine the extent of the damages due to each class in general,
and to each claimant in particular. Claimants will be required to
expressly opt in to the second stage of the Class Action by giving
formal notice to the claimants’ attorneys, and only those
claimants who opt in will have the benefit of and be bound by the
outcome of the second stage.

The draft certification order envisages further that the terms of
the order will be published widely to ensure that all potential
claimants are alerted to their rights.

The Company continues to work closely with its insurers to ensure
that the entire process is managed as efficiently as possible.

Bryanston
14 August 2018

Sponsor
J.P. Morgan Equities South Africa Proprietary Limited

Date: 14/08/2018 03:45:00 Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited ('JSE'). 
The JSE does not, whether expressly, tacitly or implicitly, represent, warrant or in any way guarantee the truth, accuracy or completeness of
 the information published on SENS. The JSE, their officers, employees and agents accept no liability for (or in respect of) any direct, 
indirect, incidental or consequential loss or damage of any kind or nature, howsoever arising, from the use of SENS or the use of, or reliance on,
 information disseminated through SENS.

Share This Story