Tredrea v KPMG Financial Advisory Services (Australia) Pty Ltd (No 2) [2019] NSWSC 640

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Tredrea v KPMG Financial Advisory Services (Australia) Pty Ltd (No 2) [2019] NSWSC 640 Hearing dates: 27, 28 May 2019 Date of orders: 28 May 2019 Decision date: 28 May 2019 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Parker J Decision: See [70]. Catchwords: CIVIL PROCEDURE — Representative proceedings — Settlement or discontinuance — Group members – parties who cannot demonstrate that a failure to register to become a group member happened through no fault of their own cannot later complain that they cannot participate in a subsequent settlement – further member may be admitted where no appreciable effect on distributions to registered group members and no opposition to order brought.

CIVIL PROCEDURE — Representative proceedings — Settlement or discontinuance — Group members — Sub-groups – where foreign investor purchased shares through foreign bank and confirmed he was a group member but did not receive notification of the proceedings as his shares were held on CHESS system by Australian nominee company – whether order allowing foreign investor to participate in the settlement independently of nominee company should be made – order inappropriate as could lead to double recovery – those administering proceeds of representative proceedings should not be required to deal directly with persons holding shares through nominee companies.

CIVIL PROCEDURE — Representative proceedings — Settlement or discontinuance — Group members –

Whether group member had realistic ability to assess the reasonableness of the settlement – where settlement terms confidential pursuant to Court order – where group member was refused access to unredacted settlement deed online and did not seek to view unredacted deed at offices of solicitors for the defendant but had benefit of Court's independent review of it – no justification for allowing member access to settlement deed where they have borne no financial responsibility for legal advice on the reasonableness of the settlement terms and sum – importance of the secrecy of the settlement process and importance of the confidentiality of the settlement sum to integrity of the settlement process and to facilitation of future settlements.