International Litigation Partners Pte Ltd v Chameleon Mining NL

In *International Litigation Partners Pte Ltd v Chameleon Mining NL*, the Court of Appeal of New South Wales was asked to consider an application by International Litigation Partners Pte Ltd (ILP) for a stay of enforcement of certain orders made by the Court on 3 June 2011. The stay was sought pending ILP's application to the High Court for special leave to appeal those orders, and if leave were granted, pending the determination of the appeal itself. Chameleon Mining NL was the respondent to the stay application.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether to grant a stay of enforcement of the earlier orders, and if so, on what conditions. This involved assessing the prospects of success of ILP's proposed appeal to the High Court and balancing the prejudice that would be suffered by each party if the stay were granted or refused. The Court also considered the appropriate form of security to be provided by ILP to protect Chameleon Mining NL's interests.

Basten JA, applying established principles for granting a stay pending an appeal, considered the strength of ILP's arguments for special leave to appeal. His Honour concluded that a stay should be granted, but only on stringent conditions. These conditions included ILP providing the usual undertaking as to damages, undertaking to prosecute its High Court applications expeditiously, and crucially, providing security in the amount of $870,000. This security was to cover the amount payable by way of restitution to Chameleon Mining NL and its liability for costs, and was to be paid into an agreed bank account or into court within 14 days. ILP was also restrained from enforcing a specific charge against Chameleon Mining NL. The costs of the stay application were ordered to be the respondents' costs in the proceedings.