Australia's corporate watchdog has lodged a notice of appeal in the Federal Court of Western Australia against a judgment given on December 23, 2009 which dismissed claims that Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (Fortescue) and the company's CEO Andrew Forrest deceived investors, a Fortescue press release has announced.
Fortescue had faced a suit from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) which alleged that the company misled the market in 2004 regarding deals with three major state-owned Chinese companies. ASIC's legal team had alleged that Fortescue and Mr. Forrest had made certain misleading announcements as part of an aggressive public relations campaign.
Fortescue chairman Herb Elliott said the company and Mr. Forrest were disappointed with ASIC's decision to appeal. "While we recognize ASIC has a legal right to appeal, the judgment was unequivocal in our favour," Mr. Elliott said.