DA Lynch v Star Entertainment Group; Drake v Star Entertainment Group; Huang v Star Entertainment Group; Jowene v Star Entertainment Group

Four individual proceedings were brought against Star Entertainment Group by DA Lynch, Drake, Huang, and Jowene. The plaintiffs sought various claims, including for oppression, in relation to the same set of facts. Each plaintiff sought a permanent stay of the other proceedings. The court was required to determine whether the proceedings should be stayed and whether the lead plaintiff in one of the proceedings was entitled to a Group Costs Order and for costs to be calculated as a percentage of any award or settlement. The court was also asked to decide whether an application to re-open the proceedings to admit fresh evidence should be granted.

The court found that the proceedings overlapped significantly and that it was appropriate to stay three of the proceedings. The court held that the principle in Wigmans v AMP Ltd meant that there was no presumption that the proceeding that was commenced first should continue. The court found that the four proceedings were in substance the same and that the claims were identical. The court noted that the plaintiffs were all represented by the same firm of solicitors, Slater & Gordon, which had amended its pleadings to reflect the claims of the other plaintiffs. The court held that it was in the interests of justice for three of the proceedings to be stayed. The court held that the application for a Group Costs Order should be granted in one proceeding. The court held that the application to re-open the proceedings to admit fresh evidence should be refused.

The court made an order that the Drake, Huang and Jowene proceedings be permanently stayed and that the costs of those proceedings be paid by those plaintiffs. The court made an order that the costs in the Lynch proceeding be calculated as a percentage of any award or settlement. The court dismissed the application to re-open the proceedings.