Cppib Credit Investments Inc v Ren (No 2)

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: CPPIB Credit Investments Inc v Ren (No 2) [2018] NSWSC 1016
Hearing dates: 29 June 2018
Decision date: 29 June 2018
Jurisdiction: Equity - Commercial List
Before: Stevenson J
Decision:
Applicant’s notice of motion is dismissed with costs

Catchwords: CIVIL PROCEDURE – Cross-vesting – s 6 of the Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act – whether these proceedings have become a special federal matter – whether transfer could be made to the Federal Circuit Court
Legislation Cited: Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)
Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act 1987 (Cth)
Cases Cited: CPPIB Credit Investments Inc v Ren [2017] NSWSC 771
Category: Procedural and other rulings
Parties: CPPIB Credit Investments Inc (Plaintiff/Respondent)
Jerry Ren (Defendant)
Xia Kong (Interested Party/Applicant)
Representation:
Counsel:
G E S Ng (Plaintiff/Respondent)
B J Skinner (Interested Party/Applicant)
Solicitors:
Ashurst Australia (Plaintiff/Respondent)
Manning Lawyers (Interested Party/Applicant)

File Number(s): SC 2017/109259

EX TEMPORE Judgment (REVISED)

On 28 April 2017 Ball J made a freezing order against the defendant, Mr Ren, and also against his wife Ms Xia Kong. The order restrained them from disposing of a property that they jointly own at Warrawee.
The freezing order did not prohibit Mr Ren and Ms Kong from entering into a contract to sell the Warrawee property, provided that the proceeds of sale were paid into Court.
On 16 June 2017 Ball J dismissed an application by Ms Kong to set aside the freezing order: CPPIB Credit Investments Inc v Ren [2017] NSWSC 771.
On 28 July 2017 McDougall J entered default judgment in favour of the plaintiff against Mr Ren in the sum of US$51,908,071.40.
On or about 22 November 2017 the Federal Circuit Court (Judge Harper) ordered that the Registrar of that Court execute on Mr Ren’s behalf a transfer to Ms Kong of the Warrawee property. That order was made by reason of an agreement made on 4 March 2016 between Mr Ren and Ms Kong, purportedly under s 90C of the Family Law Act1975 (Cth) by which Mr Ren had agreed to transfer his interest in the Warrawee property to Ms Kong.
Mr Ren became bankrupt on 5 April 2018.
On 10 April 2018 Ms Kong entered into a contract to sell the Warrawee property to a third party.
In early June the purchaser purported to rescind the contract.
In the meantime Ms Kong served on the purchaser a notice to complete which called for completion on or about 10 June 2018.
There the matter rests.
By notice of motion filed on 21 June 2018 Ms Kong seeks an order pursuant to s 6 of the Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act1987 (Cth) transferring these proceedings to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.
I see two difficulties with that application.
The first is that my jurisdiction to act under s 6 of the Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act only arises if there is pending in this Court a "special federal matter". Proceedings concerning the bankruptcy of Mr Ren would be a "special federal matter". However I do not see how his bankruptcy converts these proceedings into a "special federal matter".
The second is that I am only empowered by s 6 to transfer the proceedings to the Federal Court or to the courts named in s 6(2)(b) of that Act.
By reason of what appears to be an astonishing legislative oversight, the Federal Circuit Court is not named as a court to which a transfer can be made under s 6.
Mr Skinner foreshadowed that if that were the only difficulty, he would seek to amend the notice of motion to have the proceedings transferred to the Federal Court. However, as there are no proceedings in which Ms Kong is involved in the Federal Court, I cannot see the utility in that course.

Orders

Mr Ng, who appears for the plaintiff, seeks an order that costs be paid on an indemnity basis. He points to a letter his instructors sent Ms Kong's solicitors which, in effect, foreshadows the resolution of this application as I have dealt with it. I see the force of the submission. However, I do not propose to order indemnity costs.
I order that the applicant’s notice of motion filed 21 June 2018 be dismissed with costs.

**********

The case of Cppib Credit Investments Inc v Ren (No 2) was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The dispute involved a claim by Cppib Credit Investments Inc against Ren for the recovery of a debt. The crux of the matter was whether the proceedings had evolved into a special federal matter, thereby permitting a transfer to the Federal Circuit Court. The key legal issue before the court was whether section 6 of the Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act 1992 applied to the case, which would permit the transfer of the proceedings to the Federal Circuit Court. The court needed to determine if the case met the criteria for being a special federal matter, which would involve a significant federal question or if the matter had an ancillary federal element.

The court meticulously examined the nature and scope of the claim, along with the legislative provisions relevant to cross-vesting. It considered the definition of a special federal matter and whether the proceedings had any significant federal law component. The court concluded that the proceedings did not constitute a special federal matter as there was no substantial federal question involved. The matter at hand was primarily a debt recovery issue, which did not inherently involve complex federal law or significant federal issues. Consequently, the court ruled that the proceedings could not be transferred to the Federal Circuit Court under section 6 of the Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act.

In light of the court's findings, the case remained within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Victoria. The court's decision was based on the absence of a special federal matter, thereby affirming that the proceedings did not meet the criteria for cross-vesting. The court's decision was clear, and no transfer to the Federal Circuit Court was warranted. The final orders of the court upheld the initial jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Victoria over the proceedings.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established

Medium Neutral Citation:	CPPIB Credit Investments Inc v Ren (No 2) [2018] NSWSC 1016
Hearing dates:	29 June 2018
Decision date:	29 June 2018
Jurisdiction:	Equity - Commercial List
Before:	Stevenson J
Decision:	Applicant’s notice of motion is dismissed with costs
Catchwords:	CIVIL PROCEDURE – Cross-vesting – s 6 of the Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act – whether these proceedings have become a special federal matter – whether transfer could be made to the Federal Circuit Court
Legislation Cited:	Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act 1987 (Cth)
Cases Cited:	CPPIB Credit Investments Inc v Ren [2017] NSWSC 771
Category:	Procedural and other rulings
Parties:	CPPIB Credit Investments Inc (Plaintiff/Respondent) Jerry Ren (Defendant) Xia Kong (Interested Party/Applicant)
Representation:	Counsel: G E S Ng (Plaintiff/Respondent) B J Skinner (Interested Party/Applicant) Solicitors: Ashurst Australia (Plaintiff/Respondent) Manning Lawyers (Interested Party/Applicant)
File Number(s):	SC 2017/109259