Melbourne City Investments Pty Ltd v Treasury Wine Estates Limited; In the Matter of Treasury Wine Estates Limited [2016] FCA 787

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Melbourne City Investments Pty Ltd v Treasury Wine Estates Limited; In the Matter of Treasury Wine Estates Limited [2016] FCA 787 File number: NSD 216 of 2015

Judge: FOSTER J

Date of judgment: 5 July 2016

Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – class actions – whether an investor class action should be dismissed or permanently stayed as an abuse of process – relevant principles and considerations discussed – whether, in the event that the action is held to be an abuse of process, the appropriate remedy is not to dismiss or permanently stay the proceeding but rather to order that it not continue as a class action

Legislation: Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 674(2), s 1041H Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth), s 33N, s 33ZF, Pt IVA Medical Practitioners Act 1938 (NSW) Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW), s 23 Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), Pt 4A Federal Court Rules 2011, r 26.01(d)

Cases cited: Barton v The Queen (1980) 147 CLR 75 Batistatos v Roads & Traffic Authority of New South Wales (2006) 226 CLR 256 Blair v Curran (1939) 62 CLR 464 Clyne v Bar Association (NSW) (1960) 104 CLR 186 Crawford Adjusters (Cayman) Ltd v Sagicor General Insurance (Cayman) Ltd [2014] AC 366 Dowling v Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society Ltd (1915) 20 CLR 509 Flower & Hart v White Industries (Qld) Pty Ltd (1999) 87 FCR 134 Goldsmith v Sperrings Ltd [1977] 1 WLR 478 Grainger v Hill (1838) 132 ER 769 Hunter v Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police [1982] AC 529 In re Majory [1955] Ch 600 Jago v District Court (NSW) (1989) 168 CLR 23 King v AG Australia Holdings Ltd (2002) 121 FCR 480 King v Henderson [1898] AC 720 Kuligowski v Metrobus (2004) 220 CLR 363 Melbourne City Investments Pty Ltd v Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (No 3) [2014] VSC 340 Melbourne City Investments Pty Ltd v Treasury Wine Estates Limited (No 7), unreported, Sup Ct, Vic, Ferguson JA, 12 December 2014 Moti v The Queen (2011) 245 CLR 456 PNJ v The Queen (2009) 252 ALR 612 Ramsay v Pigram (1968) 118 CLR 271 Ridgeway v The Queen (1995) 184 CLR 19 Rogers v The Queen (1994) 181 CLR 251 The Sennar (No 2) [1985] 1 WLR 490 Thirteenth Corp Pty Ltd v State (2006) 232 ALR 491 Treasury Wine Estates Ltd v Melbourne City Investments Pty Ltd (2014) 318 ALR 121 Varawa v Howard Smith Co Ltd (1911) 13 CLR 35 Walton v Gardiner (1993) 177 CLR 378 Williams v Spautz (1992) 174 CLR 509 Windsor v Sydney Medical Service Co-operative Ltd (No 2) [2009] FCA 704 Class Actions in Australia (2nd ed, Thomson Reuters, 2012) Australian Law Reform Commission, Grouped Proceedings in the Federal Court (1988, Report No 46)