Palmer v CITIC Ltd [No 5]

The plaintiffs, Clive Frederick Palmer and Mineralogy Pty Ltd, commenced proceedings against the defendants, CITIC Ltd, Sino Iron Pty Ltd, and Korean Steel Pty Ltd, in the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The disputes in these cases revolve around allegations of disentitling conduct, abuse of process, and Anshun estoppel. The court was tasked with determining various interlocutory issues, including the admissibility of written communications between lawyers, the timing of the determination of further interlocutory disputes, and the need for a new case manager. The plaintiffs sought leave to amend their statements of claim, which was opposed by the defendants. The defendants also sought to strike out certain components of the plaintiffs' reamended reply. Further, the plaintiffs sought a discharge from, or interim temporal relief against, them giving discovery in respect of certain of the earlier ordered discovery categories. The defendants also considered bringing applications to reverse aspects of earlier orders and effectively hive away quantum issues to split the trials.

The court ruled that the plaintiffs' proposed amendments to the statements of claim were significant rather than insubstantial, and the issue of leave to amend had to be ventilated before the court. The court also held that the defendants' objection to the admissibility of the annexures to the affidavit of Minwoo Chun was technically correct, and leave must first be obtained to refer to the passing lawyer correspondence. The court further determined that all further interlocutories in both actions should be determined by a new case manager and the putative trial judge, as the judge had prior involvements in earlier arguments concerning the Fulcrum Group and the Fulcrum Purposes.

The court issued orders and directions for interlocutory disputes, including the timetabling of further interlocutory disputes for hearing, and appointed Lundberg J as the new case manager of these two actions in the Court's CMC List.