Impiombato v BHP Group Ltd

Impiombato v BHP Group Ltd concerned an application by BHP Group Ltd (BHP) for a stay of the proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia. The application was made in the context of a shareholder class action brought by the plaintiffs against BHP, alleging that BHP had breached its continuous disclosure obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) Listing Rules, as well as engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct. The plaintiffs alleged that BHP failed to disclose information and risks relating to the failure of a tailings dam in Brazil and made misleading representations. The central legal issues were whether the interests of justice required the proceedings to be stayed and if certain interlocutory steps could proceed without causing prejudice to BHP. The court had to consider the ongoing criminal proceedings in Brazil, the UK proceedings, and the potential for prejudice to BHP if the Australian proceedings continued.

The court considered various factors, including the nature of the proceedings, the risk of prejudice, and the likelihood of the Brazilian criminal proceedings being finalised before the Australian proceedings. The court found that at the current stage, the interests of justice did not require a stay of the Australian proceedings. The court acknowledged that there might be a future point where a stay would be appropriate but believed that further interlocutory steps could proceed without causing prejudice to BHP. The court also noted that the parties were free to raise the issue of costs at a later stage in the proceedings.

The court dismissed BHP's application for a stay of the proceedings. The court reserved the costs of the application and provided a brief period for the parties to indicate if they sought a different order regarding costs. If either party sought a different costs order, they were to give notice in writing to the court and the other party within seven days, after which directions would be made for the determination of the issue of costs on the papers.