Early blow for TFS action against analyst

Sandalwood producer TFS Corporation has stumbled at an early hurdle in its legal action against an equities analyst and his employer, Taylor Collison.

TFS Corporation launched the action after Adam Paul Dellaverde authored a 57-page PowerPoint presentation about the company in September last year, that it believed was damaging.

According to a document submitted to the West Australian Supreme Court, TFS Corporation said the presentation was "saturated with false and misleading statements" and omitted key information about its financial affairs and business operations.

TFS Corporation applied for discovery - the process of getting an opponent to disclose information needed for the case - to identify the involvement of any third party in creating the presentation.

But Master Craig Sanderson dismissed the application on Friday.

Taylor Collison had submitted there was nothing in the material to suggest third party involvement and no damage had been suffered by TFS Corporation, whether or not the presentation had caused a dip in its share price.

"Having examined the presentation in detail I can find nothing in the document which could be regarded as misleading or deceptive," Master Sanderson said.

"The tone is sceptical and it is clear the author was less than enthusiastic about the plaintiff as an investment.

"But that is a far cry from putting to a reader false information which in turn could lead to an adverse conclusion about the wisdom of investing in the plaintiff.

"Nor is there anything in the material which suggests the involvement of a third party."