If you are a non-executive director of an ASX listed company hellbent on minimising the risk of ever being sued for breach of your statutory duty of care, the recent judgment of Justice Michael Lee in ASIC v Bekier & Ors is essential reading. At 492 pages, it is a marathon, but as Justice Lee himself pointed out, length is no longer an obstacle in the age of AI. Perseverance rewards the reader with at least three important lessons.
The details of the case have been well reported. Justice Lee found that the executive directors of Star Entertainment Ltd breached their statutory duties of care, but the non-executive directors did not. A noticeable trend in the media commentary in the days following the judgment has been to stress that the ruling does not diminish directors’ obligations.