Commonwealth Bank of Australia v ACN 076 848 112 Pty Ltd

The appeal concerned an interlocutory application for leave to appeal a decision of Ball J in the Equity Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The applicant, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, sought leave to appeal an order that required it to provide access to the first respondent, ACN 076 848 112 Pty Ltd, to the Bank's insurance policy and related documents. The core of the dispute revolved around the discoverability of these documents in the context of proceedings between the parties.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether leave to appeal should be granted under section 444E of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth). This section governs appeals from decisions made in relation to a company's administration under Chapter 5 of the Act. The Court had to consider the principles applicable to granting leave in such circumstances, particularly where the appeal concerned matters of practice and procedure, and whether the appeal raised a question of general importance or was otherwise in the interests of justice.

Basten JA and Emmett AJA determined that leave to appeal should be granted. Their Honours applied the principle of restraint in interlocutory appeals, but found that the circumstances warranted granting leave. The Court considered the nature of the dispute, the potential impact of the discovery order, and the fact that the appeal raised important questions regarding the scope of discovery in insolvency proceedings. Consequently, the Court ordered that the applicant be granted leave to begin and proceed with the application for leave to appeal and the appeal against the first respondent, and also granted leave to appeal from the judgment of Ball J. The costs of the leave applications were to be costs in the appeal.