Nature’s Care Holdings Pty Ltd v Chen (No 3)

The matter of Nature’s Care Holdings Pty Ltd v Chen (No 3) involved the plaintiff, Nature’s Care Holdings Pty Ltd, seeking a third party costs order against certain majority shareholders. The defendants in the case sought to serve these shareholders, who were incorporated in Singapore and the Cayman Islands, with the relevant documents. The legal dispute centred on whether the defendants required leave from the court to serve these overseas shareholders, whether the circumstances of the case fell within Schedule 6 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), and whether leave to serve the shareholders overseas should be granted.

The court had to determine if the defendants' motion to serve the overseas shareholders was properly delivered to the solicitors acting for the shareholders in a broader dispute, even though the solicitors were not acting specifically for the shareholders in relation to the third party costs application. The court considered the active involvement of the majority shareholders in the events leading to the litigation, the potential impact on the shareholders if leave was not granted, and the procedural fairness to all parties involved.

The court concluded that the defendants’ motion was indeed delivered to the solicitors acting for the shareholders in the wider dispute, which should be taken as effective service on the shareholders. The court found that the circumstances of the case did fall within Schedule 6 of the UCPR, allowing for service outside Australia. Given the active involvement of the shareholders in the litigation and the potential impact on them if leave was not granted, the court granted leave for the defendants to serve the shareholders overseas.

The court ordered that the defendants were permitted to serve the majority shareholders overseas with the relevant documents pertaining to the third party costs order. This decision was based on the procedural fairness to all parties and the active involvement of the shareholders in the events leading to the litigation.