Nicholls v Michael Wilson and Partners Limited

The case of *Nicholls v Michael Wilson and Partners Limited* concerned an application for security for costs and a notice to produce an arbitral award. The appellants sought to amend their notice of appeal, while the respondent sought to dismiss the appeal and cross-appeal. The court was also asked to consider the legitimacy of a notice to produce an arbitral award, which had been issued to the appellants.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether there were special circumstances warranting security for costs, and whether the notice to produce the arbitral award was for a legitimate forensic purpose. The court also had to consider the significance of an arbitral finding that a principal was not liable for certain breaches of fiduciary duties, and whether this finding had any bearing on the liability of alleged accessories in separate proceedings. The relevance of inconsistent verdicts between different proceedings was also a key consideration.

The court found that there were no special circumstances to justify an order for security for costs. Regarding the notice to produce, the court determined that it was issued for a legitimate forensic purpose, as it was intended to support the appellants' case by demonstrating that the principal had been found not liable in the arbitral proceedings. This was considered relevant to the appellants' defence as alleged accessories. The court noted that a finding of no liability against the principal did not automatically absolve the accessories.

The court ordered that the appellants be granted leave to amend their notice of appeal. All notices of motion were dismissed, with the costs of the successful parties to be costs in the appeal.