In the matter of Sunnya Pty Ltd [2024] NSWSC 137

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: In the matter of Sunnya Pty Ltd [2024] NSWSC 137 Hearing dates: 19 February 2024 Date of orders: 22 February 2024 Decision date: 22 February 2024 Jurisdiction: Equity - Corporations List Before: Williams J Decision: Plaintiffs' application for leave to re-open dismissed. Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – application by plaintiffs to re-open after judgment reserved to tender judgment of foreign court and document produced on subpoena – where plaintiffs failed to adduce evidence of relevant foreign law during hearing – where plaintiffs now seek to rely on foreign judgment as evidence of the truth of a proposition of mixed fact and law that they have extrapolated from the outcome of the foreign proceedings and erroneously characterised as the "legal effect" of the foreign judgment – where document produced on subpoena has negligible probative value – where defendants would be prejudiced by delay that would follow from a grant of leave to re-open. Legislation Cited: Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), ss 91, 157, 174, 175 Cases Cited: Blair v Curran (1939) 62 CLR 464; [1939] HCA 23 Bradshaw v McEwans Pty Ltd (1951) 217 ALR 1 Brunninghausen v Glavanics (1999) 46 NSWLR 538; [1999] NSWCA 199 Cappello v Scrivener (No 2) [2021] NSWSC 168 Chao v Chao (No 2) [2008] NSWSC 612 Clayton v Bant (2020) 272 CLR 1; [2020] HCA 44 Du Bray v ACW [2019] FCA 1586 Ekes v Commonwealth Bank of Australia [2014] NSWCA 336; (2014) 313 ALR 665 Giannarelli v Wraith (1988) 165 CLR 543; [1988] HCA 52 Goodman Fielder Consumer Foods Pty Ltd v Graincorp Foods Australia Pty Ltd [2020] NSWSC 706 In the matter of Sunnya Pty Ltd [2023] NSWSC 1286 Joyce v Sunland Waterfront (BVI) Ltd (2011) 195 FCR 213; [2011] FCAFC 95 Kuligowski v Metrobus (2004) 220 CLR 363; [2004] HCA 34 Macquarie Bank Ltd v National Mutual Life Association of Australia Ltd (1996) 40 NSWLR 543 Mordecai v Mordecai (1988) 12 NSWLR 58 National Mutual Holdings Pty Ltd v The Sentry Corporation (1989) 22 FCR 209 National Mutual Life Association of Australasia Ltd v Grosvenor Hill (Qld) [2001] FCA 237; (2001) 183 ALR 700 State of New South Wales v Spedding [2023] NSWCA 180 The Attorney General for the State of New South Wales v Mohareb [2016] NSWSC 1823 Tomlinson v Ramsey Food Processing Pty Ltd (2015) 256 CLR 507; [2015] HCA 28 United States Trust Co of New York v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (1995) 37 NSWLR 131 Texts Cited: J D Heydon, Cross on Evidence (14th ed, 2024, LexisNexis) K R Handley, Spencer Bower and Handley: Res Judicata (5th ed, 2019, LexisNexis Butterworths) Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Sunnya Pty Ltd (First Plaintiff) Jatcorp Limited (Second Plaintiff) Yinghan He (First Defendant) Yanxia Lu (Second Defendant) Guangzhou Aotea Biological Technology Pte Ltd (Third Defendant) Guangzhou Niurui Trading Co., Ltd (Fourth Defendant) Sunlife Healthfood Pty Ltd (Fifth Defendant) Yaqing He (Sixth Defendant) HLW Investments Pty Ltd (Seventh Defendant) Supermega Market Ltd (NZ) (Eighth Defendant) Megadairy Ltd (Ninth Defendant) NZFDA Ltd (Tenth Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr RM Foreman SC, Mr MR Davis, and Mr GP Gee (Plaintiffs) Dr SA Baron Levi (First, Second and Sixth Defendants) Mr MGR Gronow KC, Mr A Aleksov, and Mr YLR Chen (Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Defendants)