Bray v F Hoffman-La Roche Ltd

The case before the court involved an application for leave to amend an application and a statement of claim in a representative proceeding. The original applicant, Ms Bray, sought to be substituted by three new applicants: Agribusiness Products Pty Ltd, Lienert Australia Pty Ltd, and Brisbane Export Corporation Pty Ltd. The application also sought approval for the discontinuance of the representative proceeding due to amendments to the application and the statement of claim. The respondents, F Hoffman-La Roche Ltd and others, were involved in the proceeding.

The legal issues before the court included whether the court should grant leave for the substitution of the applicant and the discontinuance of the representative proceeding. The court also needed to determine whether the new applicants should be granted leave to file and serve a further amended application and statement of claim. Another issue was whether the memorandum, being Exhibit "BMM-6" to the affidavit of Bernard Michael Murphy sworn on 1 December 2003, should be retained in the court file in a sealed envelope and not be available for inspection without leave of a judge of the court. The court had to consider the costs of the application, including reserved costs and costs thrown away by reason of the further amendment of the application and the statement of claim.

The court granted leave for the substitution of the applicant and the discontinuance of the representative proceeding. The new applicants were granted leave to file and serve a further amended application and a further amended statement of claim on or before 24 December 2003. The memorandum was retained in the court file in a sealed envelope and not be available for inspection without leave of a judge of the court. The applicant was ordered to pay the respondents' costs of the application, including reserved costs as well as costs thrown away by reason of the further amendment of the application and the statement of claim. The time by which any respondent, which had not filed and served an appearance, was to file and serve an appearance, was extended to 22 December 2003. All conditional appearances that had been filed and served were to become unconditional.

The court's decision provided clarity on the issues of substitution of the applicant, discontinuance of the representative proceeding, and the retention of the memorandum in the court file. The orders granted leave for the new applicants to be substituted for the original applicant and to file and serve a further amended application and statement of claim. The court's decision also provided guidance on the costs of the application, including reserved costs and costs thrown away by reason of the further amendment of the application and the statement of claim.