WCX M4-M5 Link AT Pty Ltd v Acciona Infrastructure Projects Australia Pty Ltd (No 2) [2022] NSWSC 505

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: WCX M4-M5 Link AT Pty Ltd v Acciona Infrastructure Projects Australia Pty Ltd (No 2) [2022] NSWSC 505 Hearing dates: 31 March 2022 – 1 April 2022 Date of orders: 29 April 2022 Decision date: 29 April 2022 Jurisdiction: Equity - Commercial List Before: Rees J Decision: Stay proceedings under section 8, Commercial Arbitration Act 2010 (NSW). Catchwords: BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION – plaintiff to build tunnel under Project Deed – defendants to build tunnel for plaintiff under D&C Deed – 'back to back' contracts – disputes concerning same issue under both contracts treated as "Linked Disputes" – claim concerning contamination determined as "Linked Dispute" adversely to plaintiff and defendants – defendants nonetheless seek contamination costs from plaintiff. COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION – application for stay – 'tiered' dispute resolution clause requiring negotiation, expert determination then arbitration – expert determination yet to begin – whether arbitration agreement "inoperative" under section 8(1), Commercial Arbitration Act 2010 (NSW), New York Convention and UNCITRAL Model Law – case law review at [95]-[117] – agreement "operative" notwithstanding expert determination yet to occur – John Holland v Kellogg Brown & Root not followed at [118]-[120] – proceedings stayed. WORDS AND PHRASES – "inoperative" at [95]-[117] – "urgent" at [138]. Legislation Cited: Arbitration Act 1975 (UK) Arbitration Act 1996 (UK) Commercial Arbitration Act 2010 (NSW) ss 1C, 2A, 8(1), 17J. International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth) UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards Cases Cited: 1144 Nepean Highway Pty Ltd v Leigh Mardon Australasia Pty Ltd [2009] VSC 226 AED Oil Ltd v Puffin FPSO Ltd (2010) 27 VR 22; [2010] VSCA 37 Ashgar v The Legal Services Commission [2004] EWHC 1803 (Ch) Australian Maritime Systems Ltd v McConnell Dowell Constructors (Aust) Pty Ltd [2016] WASC 52 Bakri Navigation Company Ltd v 'Golden Glory' Glorious Shipping SA (1991) 217 ALR 152 Blair v Curran (1939) 62 CLR 464 Blanalko Pty Ltd v Lysaght Building Solutions Pty Ltd (2017) 52 VR 198; [2017] VSC 97 Broken Hill City Council v Unique Urban Built Pty Ltd [2018] NSWSC 825 Cape Lambert Resources Ltd v MCC Australia Sanjin Mining Pty Ltd [2013] WASCA 66 Channel Tunnel Group Ltd v Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd [1992] QB 656; [1992] 2 All ER 609 Channel Tunnel Group Ltd v Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd [1993] AC 334 China Merchants Heavy Industry Co Ltd v JCG Corp [2001] 3 HKC 580 CPB Contractors Pty Ltd v Celsus Pty Ltd (2017) 353 ALR 84; [2017] FCA 1620 CPB Contractors Pty Ltd v DEAL S.R.L. [2021] NSWSC 820 CPB Contractors Pty Ltd v JKC Australian LNG Pty Ltd [2017] WASC 112 CPB Contractors Pty Ltd v Rizzani De Eccher Australia Pty Ltd [2017] NSWSC 1798 Donau Pty Ltd v ASC AWD Shipbuilder Pty Ltd (2019) 101 NSWLR 679; [2019] NSWCA 185 Dyna-Jet Pte Ltd v Wilson Taylor Pacific Pte Ltd [2016] SGHC 238 FirstLink Investments Corp Ltd v GT Payment Pte Ltd [2014] SGHCR 12 Green v Econia Ptv Ltd [2016] SASC 153 Hancock Prospecting v Rinehart (2017) 257 FCR 442; [2017] FCAFC 170 Heggies Bulkhaul v Global Minerals Australia (2003) 59 NSWLR 312; [2003] NSWSC 851 Hi-Fert Pty Ltd v Kiukiang Maritime Carriers Inc (No 3) (1998) 86 FCR 374 John Holland Pty Limited v Kellogg Brown & Root Pty Ltd [2015] NSWSC 451 Joint Stock Company 'Aeroflot-Russian Airlines' v Berezovsky [2013] EWCA Civ 784 Karadag v Samkara Holdings Limited [2022] NSWSC 380 Kaverit Steel and Crane Ltd v Kone Corp (1992) 8 WAC 346; (1992) 87 DLR (4th) 129 Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd v Laing O'Rourke Australia Construction Pty Ltd (2017) 96 NSWLR 329; [2017] NSWCA 291 Longboat Holdings Groupno3 v Zacole Pty Ltd [2021] VSC 280 Lucky-Goldstar International (HK) Ltd v NG Moo Kee Engineering Ltd [1993] HKCFI 14 Pavlovic v Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd (2015) 90 NSWLR 605; [2015] NSWCA 313 Rinehart v Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd (2019) 267 CLR 514 Sargent v ASL Developments Ltd (1974) 131 CLR 634 Shanghai Foreign Trade Corporation v Sigma Metallurgical Co Pty Ltd (1996) 133 FLR 417 Siam Steel International Plc v Compass (Australia) Pty Ltd (2014) 293 FLR 260; [2014] WASC 415 Sullivan v Sullivan [2006] NSWCA 312 The Rena K [1979] QB 377 Transurban WGT Co Pty Ltd v CPB Contractors Pty Ltd [2020] VSC 476 Waltons Stores (Interstate) Ltd v Maher (1988) 164 CLR 387 WCX M4-M5 Link AT Pty Ltd in its personal capacity and its capacity as trustee of the WCX M4-M5 Link Asset Trust v Acciona Infrastructure Projects Australia Pty Ltd [2022] NSWSC 375 Westco Air Conditioning Ltd v Sui Chong Construction & Engineering Co Ltd [1998] HKCFI 946; [1998] 1 HKC 254 Texts Cited: Albert van den Berg, 'The New York Convention of 1958: An Overview' in Emmanuel Galliard and Domenico Di Pietro (eds), Enforcement of Arbitration Agreements and International Arbitral Awards: The New York Convention in Practice (Cameron May, 2008) 39 Expert Determination Rules of the Resolution Institute (2016 Edition) Howard M Holtzmann and Joseph E Neuhaus, A Guide to the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (1989, Kluwer) Peter Binder, International Commercial Arbitration and Mediation in UNCITRAL Model Law Jurisdictions (Wolters Kluwer, 4th ed, 2019) Sir Michael Mustill and Mr SC Boyd in The Law and Practice of Commercial Arbitration in England (1989, Butterworths) UN Doc A/CN.9/264 UNCITRAL Secretariat Guide on the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (United Nations, 2016) Category: Principal judgment Parties: WCX M4-M5 Link AT Pty Ltd in its personal capacity and in its capacity as trustee of the WCX M4-M5 Link Asset Trust (First Plaintiff) WCX State Works Contractor Pty Ltd (Second Plaintiff) Acciona Infrastructure Projects Australia Pty Ltd (First Defendant) Samsung C&T Corporation a duly organised company under the laws of the Republic of Korea (Second Defendant) Bouygues Construction Australia Pty Ltd (Third Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr DT Miller SC / Ms N Simpson / Mr S Puttick (First and Second Plaintiffs) Mr J Giles SC / Mr D Hughes / Mr S Hartford-Davis (First, Second, Third Defendants)