Food Improvers Pty Limited v BGR Corporation Pty Ltd (No 4)

The case before the court involved a dispute between Food Improvers Pty Limited and BGR Corporation Pty Ltd, with other defendants also being Triad and Cordato Partners Services. The plaintiff, Food Improvers, claimed $500,000 from BGR, which was based on an alleged agreement from September 2005 or later, which the court rejected as unproven. The court found that this claim was primarily a dispute between the shareholders of BGR.

The legal issues before the court included the proportion of costs to be borne by Triad and Cordato Partners Services in the defence of the proceedings and the plaintiffs' motion for indemnity costs. The court determined that the proceedings were largely a dispute between the shareholders, and BGR and its subsidiaries should bear only 10% of the costs of the defence of the proceedings. The court also ruled that Triad and Cordato Partners Services were jointly and severally liable to restore to BGR 90% of the costs of the defence that BGR had already paid.

The court further addressed the plaintiffs' motion for indemnity costs, which sought an order that the other shareholders in BGR (Triad and Cordato Partners Services) pay costs on an indemnity basis from certain dates. The court dismissed the plaintiffs' motion for indemnity costs, finding that the shareholders' agreement as to their responsibility inter se did not affect the ability of the plaintiffs or BGR to recover their costs from those defendants jointly or severally.

The final orders of the court included that the second and third defendants pay to the first defendant 90% of all amounts paid by the first defendant for or in respect of the legal costs and disbursements of any of the defendants in the proceedings. Additionally, the court dismissed the plaintiffs' notice of motion filed on 15 February 2007 with costs, and discharged Order 10 made on 19 February 2007.