The Federal Court granted ex parte interim injunctive relief under s 234 of the ACL requiring the respondent to remove online publications (a video and multiple articles) and restraining republication of material conveying serious allegations of fraud and dishonesty against the applicant. The Court found a prima facie case of misleading or deceptive conduct in trade or commerce under s 18 ACL based on the applicant's sworn denial of the representations, and held the balance of convenience favoured the injunction given the serious and reputationally destructive nature of the publications and evidence of $25 million in lost contract sales. The Court rejected a submission that findings of fact made by another judge in prior ASIC proceedings against the respondent could be treated as evidence of truth in the current proceedings.
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