Department store owner Myer Holdings has been hit with another class action from an aggrieved shareholder just weeks after a court found a separate class action against it was an abuse of the legal process.
The claim was filed on Friday morning in the Federal Court by former Myer shareholder TPT Patrol Pty Ltd. TPT Patrol is trustee for the Amies Superannuation Fund.
The proceedings have been brought on behalf of a defined but unnamed group of shareholders, Myer said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange after the market closed on Friday.
TPT Patrol alleges it suffered loss and damage from statements made by Myer regarding its 2014 full-year results.
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"Myer notes that TPT Patrol's claim is, in substance, identical to the group action commenced against the company in March 2015 by Melbourne City Investments Pty Ltd (MCI)," Myer said in its statement.
"In December 2016 the Supreme Court of Victoria held that the MCI proceedings are an abuse of process and ordered they be permanently stayed.
"Portfolio Law Pty Ltd acts for both MCI and TPT Patrol in relation to these actions."
MCI is run by Melbourne lawyer Mark Elliott, who has garnered much press in recent years for filing class actions against a host of companies.
In the case in mid-December the Supreme Court found that the MCI class action against Myer was an abuse of process because Mr Elliott had purchased shares in 165 listed companies for the chief purpose of launching class-action claims against the companies if they suffered a share price fall.
"MCI was created by Mr Elliott as a vehicle for bringing representative proceedings against listed companies alleging breaches of continuous disclosure obligations," Justice Michael Sifris found.
It is not clear whether TPT Patrol has been a long-time holder of Myer shares. Fairfax Media was unable to reach representatives from Portfolio Law.
MCI launched its Myer class action in 2015 after the company failed to produce a set of results that matched statements from then chief executive Bernie Brookes in September 2014.
Mr Brookes had told investors at Myer's annual general meeting in September that for 2015 Myer not only "anticipated sales growth, but anticipated profit growth this year".
However, six months later Myer shocked the market when incoming chief executive Richard Umbers warned at the company's half-year results in March 2015 that its underlying net profit would fall to between $75 and $80 million in 2015. Myer had posted a profit of $98.5 million in 2014.
The downgrade led to Myer's share price taking a heavy hit, falling as much as 12 per cent.
In early 2016 Mr Elliott had a minor victory when a class action he had launched through MCI against Downer EDI was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.
However, two other class actions brought by MCI against Treasury Wine Estates and Leighton Holdings were found to be an abuse of process by the Victorian Court of Appeal.