Arcadia Holdings Pty Ltd v Brown

Arcadia Holdings Pty Ltd and All States Auto Imports Pty Ltd (the plaintiffs) commenced proceedings against Robert Brown, John Button, Dennis McLennan, Maxwell Huntington, Steven Allen, and the Commonwealth of Australia (the defendants) in the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The plaintiffs sought leave to amend their statement of claim, which had previously been struck out by Acting Master Chapman and subsequently upheld by the Full Court. The primary issue before Master Sanderson was whether the proposed amendments introduced new causes of action that arose from substantially the same facts as the original claims.

The plaintiffs argued that the amendments were permissible under Order 21 Rule 5(5) of the Supreme Court Rules, which allows for amendments that introduce new causes of action arising from the same or substantially the same facts. The defendants contended that the proposed amendments introduced new causes of action that did not meet the criteria set out in the rule. Master Sanderson considered the Full Court's interpretation of the rule in Dye v Griffin Coal Mining Co Pty Ltd and Morgan v Banning. He found that, while the amendments introduced new factual allegations, they were sufficiently connected to the original claims to be considered as arising from the same or substantially the same facts.

Master Sanderson allowed the amendments concerning the third defendants, noting the focus on a single meeting in November 1989 and the absence of evidence of specific prejudice. However, he refused the amendments concerning the second defendant, providing the plaintiffs an opportunity to submit a further minute. The case will proceed with these rulings, and further orders will be made after consultation with the parties.