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Nuix fights overlapping class actions
After a tumultuous 2021, yet another class action claim has been filed against Nuix in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Lauren Croft
In a statement to the market on Thursday (10 March), the tech company has disputed a third class action, which overlaps with two other class actions from disgruntled shareholders.
Similarly, the Banton Group, representing Stella Stefana Bahtiyar and shareholders who acquired NXL shares in the period between 18 November 2020 and 31 May 2021, have launched a class action that alleges the tech company misled shareholders and provided investors with inadequate guidance on revenue.
After listing on the ASX at $5.31 in December 2020, NXL’s share price has dropped repeatedly over a short period of time, growing to a high of over $11 in January 2021 and then dropping to under $3 following the series of earnings downgrades up to 31 May 2021.
The tech company downgraded its revenue forecast for FY21 twice and, in June, announced that the employment of its chief financial officer had been terminated and that there would be a transition period to replace NXL’s chief executive, who decided to retire.
“Nuix disputes the allegations contained in the claim and will be defending it. There is currently a process being undertaken before the Supreme Court to seek to deal with the competing and overlapping claims made in the two class actions which have been previously served,” the company stated on Thursday.
“Nuix anticipates that this claim will also be dealt with as part of that process.”
Shine Lawyers launched their class action in November last year after the tech company made a statement to the ASX noting that a search warrant was executed at the company’s Sydney office, “seeking documents in relation to an investigation into the affairs of an individual” as part of an ASIC investigation.
In February this year, Nuix said it had been notified by ASIC that it had completed the aspects of its investigation into the company’s financial statements for the periods ending 30 June 2018, 30 June 2019 and 30 June 2020, as well as in relation to Nuix’s prospectus, dated 18 November 2020.
The regulator determined, Nuix noted, that it “will not take any further action” in relation to those matters.
Speaking to Lawyers Weekly at the time of the announcement, Shine class actions practice leader Craig Allsopp said that the “fact that ASIC has determined to take no further action in relation to its investigation of the Nuix IPO is very unlikely to have any impact on the Nuix shareholder class actions”.
“ASIC has only dropped one investigation, into the IPO, and is still investigating Nuix’s conduct post-listing. Our claim makes allegations both in relation to the IPO and in relation to Nuix’s conduct after listing,” he explained.
“Because most of the options available to ASIC to pursue action against companies are criminal in nature or involve penalties, the burden of proof for any action that ASIC might take against a company or directors is generally higher than that required for shareholders taking civil action.”
The news also follows Nuix’s confidence in August of last year that it had complied with accounting and disclosure obligations in the wake of ASIC’s investigation, optimism following a “challenging year”, and also the company’s acquisition of Boston-headquartered software company Topos Labs in September 2021.
Lauren Croft
Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.
