Young Investments Group Pty Ltd v Mann [2012] FCAFC 107

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Young Investments Group Pty Ltd v Mann [2012] FCAFC 107 Citation: Young Investments Group Pty Ltd v Mann [2012] FCAFC 107

Appeal from: Young Investments Group Pty Ltd v Stripe Capital Pty Ltd [2011] FCA 1147

Parties: YOUNG INVESTMENTS GROUP PTY LTD ACN 078 020 309, RASTUS GROUP PTY LTD ACN 117 297 015, REID PARK INVESTMENTS PTY LTD ACN 126 109 626 and BEVERLEY LORRAINE YOUNG v JAMES JEFFREY MANN, MICHAEL CHARLES BOWDEN, ANTHONY CHRISTOPHER KENNY, TIMOTHY LEONARD WEIR, STEPHEN EDWARD WOOD, ROBERT PHILIP GRANT, ANGELA CLAIRE HAYWARD, ANTIGONI LIKOUDIS, MARK EVANS MORRIS and ALEXANDER BURT

File number: WAD 431 of 2011

Judges: EMMETT, BENNETT AND MCKERRACHER JJ

Date of judgment: 14 August 2012

Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – adequacy of pleadings – appeal against strike out of pleadings at first instance insofar as they alleged breaches of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and breaches of fiduciary duty against directors of certain companies – whether statement of claim disclosed arguable case against directors – where adequacy of pleading turned upon allegations of actual knowledge on the part of the directors – requirement to particularise pleaded allegation of knowledge – where statement of claim appeared to assert that knowledge of the directors of the obligations of the companies, combined with the foreseeability of damage to clients if the obligations were breached, gave rise to a duty owed by the directors to the clients to take reasonable care to cause the company to perform the obligations – extent to which cause sought to be pleaded could be inferred from the statement of claim – whether pleading adequately connected relevant representations to the knowledge alleged