You're right. But you can still weigh up the odds. It's just...

You're right. But you can still weigh up the odds. It's just something you do before investing. I'm not overly bothered by the legal matter, but other's might be. HCT did claim it was effective against the human strain when they didn't have any proof at that time, and they did claim there were orders that were not crystallised that then led to a substantial downgrade of their forecast. These are just facts we can gather from announcements available to everyone.

Now, what ASIC is alleging is "misleading and deceptive conduct". To succeed ASIC just have to show that the conduct was "likely" to mislead or deceive. They do not have to prove that it was intentional or that it actually did mislead, just that it could have been misleading to a consumer, or investor in this case. So yes, it's not decided, it could go either way, but the law is leaning in ASICs favour. I'm a share holder in HCT, so I hope it amounts to nothing, but I'm also weighing up the odds. Even if ASIC did succeed I still don't think it's a deal breaker. This happens in business a lot and it doesn't do too much damage in the long run.

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca2001172/s1041h.html

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca2001172/s1041g.html

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca2001172/s1041n.html