Luminar, Former Exec Must Fight Investor’s Chip Picture Suit (1)

Luminar Technologies Inc. and a subsidiary’s former leader must defend against allegations they intentionally or recklessly misled shareholders with an image of a competitor’s technology in a presentation.

The investor leading the case made sufficient allegations for the court to draw an inference executive Mike McAuliffe could have known the challenged image wasn’t Luminar’s chip, Judge Julie S. Sneed said Wednesday.

“Additionally, a reasonable person would find it improbable that McAuliffe—who was charged with monitoring and presenting on Luminar’s technology—would have thought that displaying a competitor’s chip could not present a danger of misleading investors at an event where Luminar ...