Judge dismisses conflicts in GetSwift cases
GetSwift, the delivery empire launched by former AFL player Joel Macdonald has failed in a bid to have two cases against it split between two judges.
Confidential
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The once high-flying delivery empire launched by former AFL player Joel Macdonald has told the Federal Court it would take a “superhuman” judge to hear both court cases against it.
But GetSwift failed in a bid to have two cases against it split between two judges.
Macdonald is executive director of GetSwift, which faces claims it made a number of misleading announcements about clients it had secured between February and December 2017.
GetSwift is to face the corporate cop, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, in the Federal Court next June.
A month later it faces a class action by lawyers Phi Finney McDonald.
Both were to be heard by Justice Michael Lee.
But on Monday in Sydney’s Federal Court, GetSwift lawyers argued the class action should have a different judge to the ASIC action because Phi Finney McDonald lawyers would produce different evidence and construct a case of their own.
GetSwift’s lawyers argued the judge “would require a feat of superhuman mental compartmentalisation” to hear both cases.
Matthew Darke, SC, appearing for GetSwift, said a judge might not be able to entirely disregard the evidence in one proceeding in deciding the other.
But Justice Lee said the possible conflicts were overstated and dismissed the application.