Chubb Insurance Australia Ltd v Giabal Pty Ltd; Catlin Australia Pty Ltd v Giabal Pty Ltd

Chubb Insurance Australia Ltd and Catlin Australia Pty Ltd sought leave to appeal an interlocutory decision of the primary judge that joined them as defendants in proceedings brought by Giabal Pty Ltd. The insurers argued that their entitlement to disclaim liability was beyond argument, suggesting the joinder was unnecessary or premature.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether leave to appeal the interlocutory joinder decision should be granted. This required the Court to consider whether the insurers' entitlement to disclaim liability was so clearly established that an appeal against the joinder was warranted at this interlocutory stage, or whether such an appeal would be futile given the lack of a final determination on the insurers' liability.

The Court of Appeal determined that an interlocutory appeal would be of no utility. It reasoned that the primary judge had not made any determination regarding the insurers' liability, nor had the insurers' entitlement to disclaim liability been conclusively established. Consequently, the Court concluded that it was not appropriate to grant leave to appeal at this interlocutory juncture, as any appeal would be premature and would not resolve the substantive issues in the litigation.

Accordingly, the amended summonses seeking leave to appeal filed by Chubb Insurance Australia Ltd and Catlin Australia Pty Ltd were dismissed with costs.