The settlement of the Treasury Wine Estates Limited Class Action has been approved by the Court
On 24 June 2025, the Honourable Justice McDonald of the Supreme Court of Victoria made orders approving the Settlement. Distribution of the settlement fund is due to commence in late 2025 and Distribution Notices are expected to be distributed from August 2025.
Only group members who registered their claim before 20 December 2023, or who were otherwise deemed to be registered group members by order of the court, are eligible to share in the settlement.
Registered group members who are eligible to share in the settlement will be provided with further information regarding their individual entitlement to compensation.
If you are a registered group member, you will receive an email about your distribution from 8 August 2025. You do not need to take any steps until you receive that email.
On 14 October 2024, the parties announced they had reached an in-principle settlement of $65 million, inclusive of legal costs. The proposed settlement was agreed to on a no admission of liability basis and was subject to Court approval.
A Court-ordered Notice of Proposed Settlement was distributed to Group Members from 17 April 2025. Notices were distributed by email or post. A copy of the Notice of Proposed Settlement is also available at this link.
Group members who would like further information may request one or both of the following confidential documents:
- The Deed of Settlement
- The Confidential Schedules D, E and F of the Settlement Distribution Scheme.
Background
On 31 March 2020, Slater and Gordon commenced a group proceeding (class action) against Treasury Wine Estates Limited (TWE).
Claim Period
The proceeding relates to TWE’s conduct between the period 30 June 2018 to 28 January 2020 (inclusive). Investors who purchased shares in Treasury during this period are group members in the proceeding.
Allegations
The proceeding alleges that TWE contravened its obligations of continuous disclosure and engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct, breaching relevant provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). TWE made several representations between 2018 and 2019, which the proceeding alleges were misleading.
On 31 January 2018, TWE released to the ASX a document entitled Interim 2018 Results. In this, TWE stated as a result of its new market model, the performance of its “Americas” division would strengthen through FY19 and FY20 and contribute to accelerated EBITS growth for TWE through FY19, FY20 and beyond.
On 14 February 2019, TWE released to the ASX a document entitled Interim 2019 Results. In this, the company stated that an EBITS growth rate of approximately 15% to 20% was expected for FY20.
On 15 August 2019, TWE released to the ASX a document entitled 2019 Annual Results Announcement. In this, the company further said that group FY20 EBITS results would be delivered by growth in all markets, through continued top line growth and premiumisation and ongoing operational efficiency.
On 16 October 2019, TWE released to the ASX a copy of the investor presentation and speaking notes from its Annual General Meeting, in which it reaffirmed the FY20 Guidance.
On 28 January 2020, TWE released the FY20 Downgrade. The market’s reaction to the FY20 Downgrade was substantial, with the price of TWE shares falling by approximately 20% over the following trading days.
Consolidation of two class actions
A second class action was filed against TWE by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers in respect of the same claim period and with substantially similar allegations.
On 15 October 2020, the Court consolidated the two class actions into one. This means the Consolidated Proceeding is now brought by both plaintiffs jointly. The Joint Plaintiffs have now filed a Consolidated Statement of Claim. This aligns the allegations and claims made in the two class actions into a single statement of claim.
Joint Plaintiffs
- The first plaintiff is Brett Stallard as trustee for the Stallard Superannuation Fund.
- The second plaintiff is Mr Steven Napier (together, the Joint Plaintiffs).
Joint Solicitors
- Slater and Gordon.
- Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.
The firms are jointly named as solicitors for the Joint Plaintiffs. They are working together to run the Consolidated Proceeding on behalf of all group members. This is the sixth time that the two firms have worked together on a shareholder class action.
Frequently Asked Questions
The deadline for registration was 20 December 2023.
The deadline for late registrants to seek permission from the Court to be included in the Proposed Settlementwas 15 May 2025.
The deadline to request to amend trade data was 5pm (AEST) on 15 May 2025.
You will not be required to pay any out-of-pocket costs. Any costs the Court approves as reasonable will be deducted from the settlement sum prior to the distribution of the settlement to eligible group members.
The deadline for Group members to submit their objections to the court or ask to appear at the settlement approval hearing was 15 May 2025. Please note that as settlement administrator, we were unable to provide any individual legal advice or to otherwise assist with the objections process.
The deadline to opt out of the Treasury Wine Estate class action was Friday 20 December 2023. If you did not opt out and also did not register before that date, you are still considered a group member in this class action, but you will not be eligible to receive compensation. You will be bound by the outcome and will lose any rights that you may have to bring your own claim against Treasury Wine Estates for the alleged conduct.