Nutrien AG Solutions Ltd v Pingrup Traders Pty Ltd

Nutrien AG Solutions Ltd applied for an interlocutory injunction to restrain Pingrup Traders Pty Ltd from dealing with certain products located at Pingrup, Western Australia, and to require the delivery up of the products. The products are currently held by Pingrup Traders, which is an affiliate store owned by independent traders. The parties are in dispute over the terms of an agreement between them, the Landmark Merchandise Partner/Fertiliser Deed Pingrup, dated 2011 and signed in about 2013. Nutrien claims that Pingrup Traders has breached the agreement by refusing to return the products and by asserting an agent's lien over the products. The application was heard by Forrester J, who had to decide whether there was a serious question to be tried, whether Nutrien would suffer irreparable injury for which damages would not be adequate compensation, and whether the balance of convenience favoured granting the injunction. The court found that there was a serious question to be tried as to whether Pingrup Traders was able to claim a lien in this case, such a claim being inconsistent with the contract between the parties. However, the court was not satisfied that Nutrien would suffer irreparable injury for which damages would not be adequate compensation, as the difficulty in making an assessment did not make damages an inadequate remedy. The court also found that the balance of convenience favoured granting the injunction, as Nutrien offered to pay $450,000 into court as a means to secure the release of all of the property. The court ordered that, subject to the payment into court of cleared funds in the amount of $450,000, the property be delivered up to Nutrien and that, until such time as that occurs, Pingrup Traders be restrained from dealing with the property.