Today, 21 June 2019, Court of Appeal (isl. Landsréttur) rendered a judgment in the case of Eimskipafélag Íslands hf. against the Financial Supervisory Authority and the Icelandic Government.
The background of the case is that the Financial Supervisory Authority made a decision in March 2017 that Eimskipafélag Íslands hf. had violated Art. 122.1 of the Securities Act no. 108/2007 by not disclosing inside information which the Financial Supervisory Authority claimed that had been formed in a draft of the 2016 first quarter results. A fine of ISK 50.000.000 was imposed on the company.
Eimskip filed a case before the District Court of Reykjavík where the Financial Supervisory Authority was acquitted by a judgment rendered in April 2018. Eimskip decided to appeal the judgment of the District Court of Reykjavík to Landsréttur.
The conclusion of Landsréttur is that the appealed judgement of the District Court of Reykjavík is confirmed. Eimskip is of the opinion that all preparation and publishing of the 2016 first quarter results was done in accordance with applicable law and good corporate governance, as it was in accordance with prior published EBITDA guidance for year 2016. Therefore this conclusion is a disappointment for the company. Eimskip will review the judgement and its reasoning and decide whether to appeal to the Supreme Court.