Shareholders launch legal action against Oz Minerals

A class action has been filed in the Federal Court in Melbourne on behalf of shareholders.

They are alleging Oz Minerals failed to tell the market it was due to pay debts of $560 million US by November last year.

The company went into a temporary trading halt and had to sell assets to meet its financial commitments.

Lawyer Ben Slade alleges shareholders were unable to assess the risks involved in their investment.

"In Australia, which is a progressive jurisdiction, companies have a continuous obligation to disclose all material facts to the market that aren't otherwise known," he said.

"The Australian accounting standards at the time and currently are that any debts that can't be deferred for at least 12 months after the reporting date have to be classified as current."

Mr Slade hopes to see progress on the claim before a directions hearing later this month.

"Their shareholders don't want to have a long, drawn out fight. The courts don't want these fights to be long and drawn out and we should sit down and talk.

Oz Minerals says it will vigorously defend the claim.