Parbery v QNI Metals

Parbery v QNI Metals involves a dispute between the plaintiffs, who are shareholders of QNI Metals, and the defendants, who are directors and officers of QNI Metals. The plaintiffs initiated proceedings against the defendants for various claims, including breach of fiduciary duty, oppression, and breaches of directors' duties under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The case was heard in the Federal Court of Australia.

The legal issues the court was required to decide related to the defendants' applications for recusal, which they filed on 19 October 2018. The defendants sought the recusal of the judge, Jackson J, on the basis of perceived bias. They argued that the judge had made unfavourable comments about one of the defendants to officers of the court, including barristers and solicitors. The plaintiffs opposed the applications for recusal, asserting that there was no basis for the judge to be recused and that the defendants' claims were without merit.

The court considered the applications for recusal and determined that the hearing of the applications should commence immediately. After the oral submissions from the defendants, the court adjourned the hearing to 1 November 2018 at 10 am for further proceedings. The plaintiffs were required to file and serve any affidavit material and written submissions in response to the applications for recusal by 30 October 2018. Additionally, the fourth defendant was directed to file and serve any affidavit material regarding the judge's alleged comments by 31 October 2018.

The court issued an order in relation to the applications for recusal. The order required the hearing of the applications to commence immediately, with a further hearing scheduled for 1 November 2018 at 10 am. The plaintiffs were instructed to file and serve any affidavit material and written submissions by 30 October 2018, while the fourth defendant had to file and serve any relevant affidavit material by 31 October 2018.