HK: Lehman losers eye US class action move - press

Representatives of two United States law firms are expected to arrive in Hong Kong soon to establish links with local investors of the failed Lehman-related products in a bid to launch a no-win-no-pay class action in a US court.

Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho said yesterday the class action, if launched, would not affect local attempts at mediation, arbitration and buybacks in court cases.

"There is no collective litigation in Hong Kong," Ho said. "Besides, investors will only have to pay the lawyers should they be compensated [because of the no- win-no-pay approach, which is outlawed in Hong Kong]."

He said another major difference was that the US class action would be against the trustees while the Hong Kong cases are against retail banks.