ASIC moves to force law firm on AMP documents
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has applied to the Federal Court for an order compelling law firm Clatyon Utz to produce documents which go to the heart of fee for no service allegations against AMP Limited.
The regulator said today it had made the court application and was conducting an ongoing investigation into AMP over the fee for no service conduct and related false and misleading statements to ASIC.
“This relates to circumstances where customers were charged ongoing service fees without having been provided the services to which they were entitled,” the ASIC statement said.
The regulator said that in October, it had issued a notice under section 33 of the ASIC Act to Clayton Utz requiring the production of certain documents, and that the law firm had declined to produce the documents on the basis that they were the subject of legal professional privilege.
ASIC said it was seeking from the Federal Court a declaration that the documents were not subject to legal professional privilege or alternatively that legal professional privilege had been waived by AMP and an order requiring Clayton Utz to produce the documents to ASIC and ancillary orders.
ASIC’s application has been listed for a first case management hearing in the Federal Court in Melbourne on 8 February 2019.
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