Cox v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited [2024] NSWSC 1549

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Cox v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited [2024] NSWSC 1549 Hearing dates: On the papers Date of orders: 2 December 2024 Decision date: 03 December 2024 Jurisdiction: Equity - Commercial List Before: Stevenson J Decision: Orders made for preliminary discovery Catchwords: CIVIL PROCEDURE – preliminary discovery – where plaintiffs may have cause of action against financial adviser – where plaintiffs seek non-party discovery – where defendant does not oppose orders sought Legislation Cited: Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) Category: Principal judgment Parties: Drusilla Elizabeth May Cox (First Plaintiff) Elizabeth Margaret Neil Seaman (Second Plaintiff) Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: C Hamilton-Jewell (Plaintiffs)

Solicitors: Talbot Sayer (Plaintiffs) File Number(s): 2024/406781

JUDGMENT 1. This is a very clear case for the making of an order under Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), r 5.4, for non-party discovery. 2. The plaintiffs, who are a mother and daughter, apprehend that they have been defrauded by their financial adviser. 3. They seek non-party discovery from the financial adviser's bank of statements and other records which may enable the plaintiffs to understand what has become of funds that they placed with the financial adviser for investment. 4. Appropriately, the bank took a neutral stance and neither consented to nor opposed the orders sought. 5. I made those orders on 2 December 2024.