Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Somerville [2008] NSWSC 788

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Somerville [2008] NSWSC 788

HEARING DATE(S) : 11 July 2008

JUDGMENT DATE : 4 August 2008

JURISDICTION : Equity

JUDGMENT OF : Austin J

DECISION : Leave granted

CATCHWORDS : PRACTICE & PROCEDURE - joinder of parties - civil penalty proceeding against legal adviser to eight transactions asserting liability for involvement in contraventions by directors who caused the companies to enter into those transactions, and also against the directors for breaches of their duties - whether plaintiff is entitled to join adviser and director defendants in a single proceeding under Part 6 rule 19(1) - whether, in absence of entitlement, court should grant leave to permit joinder - relevant discretionary factors

LEGISLATION CITED : Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), s 56 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules, Part 6 rule 19

ASIC v Sydney Investment House Equities Pty Ltd [2007] NSWSC 434 CASES CITED : Dean-Willcocks v Air Transport International Pty Ltd (2002) 55 NSWLR 64 Payne v Young (1979) 145 CLR 609 Thai Silk Co Ltd v ASER Nominees Pty Ltd (Federal Court of Australia, unreported, 31 May 1989, BC8902945

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Plaintiff/Applicant) Timothy Donald Somerville (First Defendant) Somerville & Co Pty Ltd (Second Defendant) Nicholas Eugene Jones (Third Defendant) Simon Durant (Fourth Defendant) PARTIES : Calvin Bert Rowley (Fifth Defendant) John Lancelot Bradnam (Sixth Defendant) Christopher Paul Martin Jones (Seventh Defendant) Adam Leslie Troost (Eighth Defendant/Respondent) John William Monsell (Ninth Defendant) Arthur James Wells (Tenth Defendant)