The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has scored a victory in its long-running case against GetSwift, with the Federal Court finding the company and its directors breached the Corporations Act and ASIC Act through their “public relations-driven approach” to announcements on the Australian Stock Exchange.
A judge has refused to summarily dismiss proceedings brought by the ACCC against office supply company Fuji Xerox over allegedly unfair contracts with small businesses.
ASIC’s case against GetSwift and its founders Joel Macdonald and Bane Hunter makes accusations against both directors but relies on alleged conduct by only Hunter, a lawyer for Macdonald has told a court on the last day of trial in the corporate regulator’s case.
A former director of GetSwift has given evidence at trial in ASIC’s case against the logistics provider that the company drafted a correction to a misleading ASX announcement about a deal with fruit and milk delivery provider Fruit Box but never released it.
A judge has dismissed a defensive bid by ASIC to amend its case against GetSwift mid-trial, instead calling on “common sense” to be injected into the proceeding as the hearing enters its second week.
GetSwift “sat on” an announcement about a lucrative deal with US-based automotive sales and marketing firm N.A. Williams for more than three weeks, then leaked the news to the media before announcing it on the Australian Stock Exchange, ASIC has told the Federal Court on day two of a trial in the corporate regulator’s case against the logistics tech company.
Émails show the directors of logistics company GetSwift took a “deliberate approach” to inflating the company’s share price through a constant supply of positive ASX announcements about new multimillion-dollar contracts, ASIC said on the first day of a highly anticipated five-week trial.