Ansons Pty Ltd v Merlex Corporation Pty Ltd

The case of Ansons Pty Ltd v Merlex Corporation Pty Ltd involved an application by the defendant to discharge certain consent orders made by the court. The plaintiff sought an inspection of certain documents and records of the defendant pursuant to the Corporations Law of Western Australia. The court made an order for compliance with the provisions of s 290(1) of the Law, which was made under s 1303 of the Law. The defendant applied to discharge the consent orders, arguing that the circumstances which led to the making of the order had changed, specifically that the second plaintiff, who was a director at the time the order was made, was no longer a director. The court considered the legal principles surrounding the power to vary or discharge a perfected or entered order. It examined a number of authorities and concluded that there is a power to vary or discharge a perfected order in the most unusual circumstances. The court found that the fact that the second plaintiff was no longer a director of the defendant was decisive and that it would not be in the interests of justice to allow an individual who is not a director of a company unrestricted access to the books of that company. Therefore, the court granted the defendant's application to discharge the consent orders.