Ace Insurance Ltd v Moose Enterprise Pty Ltd [2009] NSWSC 175

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Ace Insurance Ltd v Moose Enterprise Pty Ltd [2009] NSWSC 175

HEARING DATE(S) : 23 February 2009 JURISDICTION : Equity Division Duty Judge List

JUDGMENT OF : Brereton J

EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 23 February 2009

DECISION : Short adjournment ordered pending clarification of position in foreign forum

CATCHWORDS : Procedure – adjournment – application for anti-suit injunction – where local plaintiff's position in foreign proceeding to be protected by local defendant/foreign plaintiff in interim

LEGISLATION CITED : (NSW) Civil Procedure Act 2005

CATEGORY : Procedural and other rulings

PARTIES : Ace Insurance Ltd (plaintiff) Moose Enterprise Pty Ltd (defendant)

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 1103/09

COUNSEL : A S Bell SC w J R Williams (plaintiff) J R Sackar QC w R M Foreman (defendant)

SOLICITORS : Wotton + Kearney Lawyers (plaintiff) Arnold Bloch Leibler (defendant)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES EQUITY DIVISION DUTY JUDGE LIST

BRERETON J

Monday 23 February 2009

1103/09 Ace Insurance Ltd v Moose Enterprise Pty Ltd JUDGMENT (ex tempore)

1 HIS HONOUR: The defendant Moose Enterprises Pty Limited is an Australian company that manufactures toys and has directly or indirectly distributed them inter alia in the United States of America. Moose is the defendant in a number of class actions which have been brought in various States of the United States – including some, at least initially, in California, although most of them have now been consolidated into a proceeding in the State of Illinois. Moose has a product and public liability policy of insurance with the plaintiff Ace Insurance Ltd, also an Australian company. The policy contains clauses by which the parties agreed that their contract will be governed by Australian law and procedure, and to submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of the Commonwealth of Australia and its States.