Hannah Louis Group Pty Limited ACN 122 439 392 t/as Maxum Transport & Anor v Maxum Taxi Trucks Pty Limited [2011] NSWSC 291

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Hannah Louis Group Pty Limited ACN 122 439 392 t/as Maxum Transport & Anor v Maxum Taxi Trucks Pty Limited [2011] NSWSC 291 Hearing dates: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26 and 27 October 2011; 3, 11, 22 and 24 November 2010; 10 December 2010 Decision date: 15 April 2011 Jurisdiction: Equity Division Before: Bergin CJ in Eq Decision: Joint venture as claimed by the plaintiff Catchwords: [CONTRACT] - oral agreement - joint venture to operate transport/courier business - whether plaintiff's involvement limited to lending his name to venture or to share in profits of the business - defendant's clandestine conduct in moving the business into other companies - whether plaintiff's or defendant's version of oral agreement supported by surrounding circumstances - trial limited to liability Legislation Cited: Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW) Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) Cases Cited: B.P. Refinery (Westernport) Pty Ltd v Shire of Hastings (1977) 180 CLR 266 Brambles Holdings Ltd v Bathurst City Council [2001] NSWCA 61; (2001) 53 NSWLR 153 Codelfa Construction Pty Ltd v State Rail Authority of NSW (1982) 149 CLR 337 County Securities Pty Ltd v Challenger Group Holdings Pty Ltd [2008] NSWCA 193 McCann v Switzerland Insurance Australia Limited [2000] HCA 65; 203 CLR 579 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Hannah Louis Group Pty Limited ACN 122 439 392 (1st plaintiff) Michael Saba (2nd plaintiff) Maxum Taxi Trucks Pty Limited ACN 118 987 143 (1st defendant) CDM Transport Pty Limited ACN 118 987 134 (In Liq) (2nd defendant) Dominic Savo (3rd defendant) Sandra Savo (4th defendant) Christina Savo (5th defendant) Savo Holdings Pty Limited ACN 118 963 312 (In Liq) (6th defendant) Total Transport Services (NSW) Pty Limited ACN 129 753 671 (7th defendant) Lindsay LeRau (8th defendant) Michael Walker (9th defendant) Representation: Mr P Bruckner/Mr E Walker (plaintiffs) Mr B Goldsmith, solicitor (3rd defendant) Mr P Cook (4th, 5th and 7th defendants) Kelvin Solari (plaintiffs) Goldsmiths Lawyers (3rd defendant) KP Lawyers & Barristers (4th, 5th and 7th defendants) File Number(s): 2007/00257804