Parmalat class action

Can I be a party to the US action and the Italian action if I am a citizen of both countries?

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A group of 4,000 savers who lost money in the December 2003 collapse of Parmalat are suing the dairy company's former auditors and some banks, said Deminor, the corporate governance consultancy advising the savers.

The legal action will also be supported by institutional investors that lost out in the collapse of Parmalat, it said, adding that the legal action will be launched in the Milan court.

'Already in 2006, Deminor and Altroconsumer (a consumer group) had launched an action on behalf of a savers group against (former auditors) Deloitte & Touche SpA and Italaudit SpA,' it said.

This case did not proceed because there was already a class action launched in the U.S. from which savers could benefit, it said.

However, in July last year, the judge in the U.S. class action decided that savers not resident in the U.S. and who had not bought shares in the U.S. were excluded from the U.S. case against Citibank, Bank of America, Deloitte Touche, and Grant Thornton, it said.

Monday's action in Milan names the four banks and auditors targeted previously, plus UBS, Nextra, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank, it said.

In various legal cases underway and in settlements, auditors and banks have denied they contributed to the collapse of Parmalat.

You cannot be a party to both actions if the cases stem from the same facts. You have to choose one or the other.