Morony & Ors v Reschke & Ors [2012] NSWSC 1218

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Morony & Ors v Reschke & Ors [2012] NSWSC 1218 Hearing dates: 18 September 2012 Decision date: 09 October 2012 Jurisdiction: Equity Division - Corporations List Before: Black J Decision: Notice of Motion dismissed with costs. Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - Motion for separation of question of liability from determination of damages in proceedings - Determination of common questions of law and fact - Appropriate exercise of court's discretion - Whether common questions of fact and law have been properly identified - Whether liability and quantum should be separated - Whether "test cases" should be ordered. Legislation Cited: - Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth) s 12DA, 12DI - Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) Pt 10, ss 56, 56-58, 57, 58, 58(2), 157, 161 - Corporations Law ss 724, 728 - Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) Pt IVA Cases Cited: - De Bortoli Wines Pty Ltd v HIH Insurance Ltd (in liq) [2012] FCAFC 28 - Finance Sector Union of Australia v Commonwealth Bank of Australia [1999] FCA 59; (1999) 89 FCR 417 - Idoport Pty Ltd v National Australia Bank Ltd [2000] NSWSC 1215 - Ingot Capital Investments Pty Ltd v Macquarie Equity Capital Markets Ltd [2008] NSWCA 206; (2008) 73 NSWLR 653 - Perre v Apand Pty Ltd [1999] HCA 36; (1999) 198 CLR 180 - Pioneer Park Pty Ltd (in liq) v ANZ Banking Group Ltd [2005] NSWSC 832 - Sreika v Cardinal Financial Securities Ltd [2000] FCA 1647 - Tallglen v Pay TV Holdings Pty Ltd (1996) 22 ACSR 130 - Tepko Pty Ltd v Water Board [2001] HCA 19; (2001) 206 CLR 1 - Watson v AWB Ltd [2007] FCA 1367 - Wingecarribee Shire Council v Lehman Brothers Australia Ltd (No 3) [2010] FCA 747 Category: Interlocutory applications Parties: Andre Morony (First Plaintiff) Joseph Edward Duggan (Second Plaintiff) Richard William Turner (Third Plaintiff) Chanturn Pty Ltd atf Staff Superannuation Fund (Fourth Plaintiff) Tadeusz Skoczek (Fifth Plaintiff) Helkad Pty Ltd atf Staff Superannuation Fund (Sixth Plaintiff) Lynbar Pty Ltd atf Roberts Super Fund (Seventh Plaintiff) Rosa Genovesi (Eighth Plaintiff) Denis William Sullivan (Ninth Plaintiff) Anna Lee (Tenth Plaintiff) Barry John Callanan (Eleventh Plaintiff) Hugh Ronald Alexander Millikin (Twelfth Plaintiff) Benjamin David Kirkpatrick (Thirteenth Plaintiff) Stanley Norman Berry (Fourteenth Plaintiff) Ian David McMurtie (Fifteenth Plaintiff) Tolmer Products Pty Ltd (Sixteenth Plaintiff) Peter Charles Thomas (Seventeenth Plaintiff) Burke Robert Stanley Reschke (First Defendant) Coonawarra Property Holdings Pty Ltd (formerly Coonawarra Property Holdings Ltd) (Second Defendant) Koonara Management Pty Ltd (Third Defendant) Rocky Castle Finance Pty Ltd (Fourth Defendant) Advanced Horticultural Management Ltd (formerly Australian Hardwood Management Ltd) (Fifth Defendant) Alan Jessup (Sixth Defendant) Fergus Robert McLachlan (Seventh Defendant) Ian Dugald Murray McLachlan (Eighth Defendant) Ian Murray McLachlan (Ninth Defendant) Representation: Counsel: P. Newton/J. Lucy (Plaintiffs) D. Sulan (First-Fourth Defendants) M.B.J. Lee SC/J. McDonald (Fifth-Ninth Defendants) Solicitors: Rockliffs (Plaintiffs) Piper Alderman (First-Fourth Defendants) William Roberts (Fifth-Ninth Defendants) File Number(s): 11/110080