The AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) share price is in focus this morning as the financial services company's latest legal battle hits headlines.
AMP and its Charter Financial Planning business are being sued by Centurion Wealth Advisors. Centurion is reportedly alleging AMP breached the terms of buyout contract.
The AMP share price closed Friday's session trading at 98.5 cents after gaining 2% over the course of the day.
Let's take a closer look at today's news out of AMP.
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AMP taken to Federal Court
The AMP share price is on watch this morning after news of its latest lawsuit broke.
According to the Australian Financial Review (ARF), Centurion believes AMP breached the terms of a buyout agreement signed in 2015.
Centurion's claims were lodged to the Federal Court of Australia on 17 September 2021.
The AFR has reported Centurion's founder and managing director, William Nelson, worked for AMP before taking a loan from the company to open Centurion. He then signed an agreement to sell the business to AMP when he retired.
Then, in 2019, AMP allegedly changed the terms of its buyback agreements, leaving some previously offered purchase values slashed by nearly 40%.
According to the AFR, Centurion is claiming AMP's Charter Financial Planning noted the changes wouldn't affect businesses that lodged their buyout notices by November 2019 and exited their businesses by May 2021.
And that's just what Centurion asserts it did. But AMP allegedly changed the buyout contract's terms in December 2019, adding extra restrictions on payouts. Centurion is also arguing AMP told it that Nelson had delayed the buyout agreement.
As a result, AMP allegedly reduced its payout for Centurion from around $955,471 to just $300,000.
AMP is yet to file a defence to the allegations that hit headlines this morning.
AMP share price snapshot
The AMP share price, and the company itself, has struggled through the last few years, and 2021 has been no different.
It has fallen 36% since the start of 2021. It is also 27% lower than it was this time last year.
