RCD Holdings Ltd v Lt Game International (Australia) Ltd

The plaintiffs, ePayment Solutions Pty Ltd and RCD Holdings Ltd, commenced proceedings against the defendant, LT Game International (Australia) Ltd, for breach of contract. The contract between the parties contained an exclusive jurisdiction clause, which mandated that any dispute be heard, determined, and resolved by an action commenced in Macau. Despite this clause, the plaintiffs initiated proceedings in the court of Queensland. The defendant entered a conditional appearance and applied to either strike out the claim or have it stayed, as the proceedings were commenced in contravention of the contractual agreement.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the law of Macau was the governing law of the contract, and if so, whether the court should exercise its discretion to stay or dismiss the claim in light of the exclusive jurisdiction clause. The court also needed to determine whether there were any proper discretionary bases that would allow the proceedings to continue in Queensland, contrary to the contractual clause.

The court found that the law of Macau was the governing law of the contract, as stipulated in clause 10 of the contract. Given the exclusive jurisdiction clause, the court was mandated to hear, determine, and resolve any disputes in Macau. The court found that there were no proper discretionary bases to allow the proceedings to be litigated in Queensland. As a result, the court dismissed the claim and ordered the plaintiffs to pay the defendant's costs of the claim, including the application, assessed on the standard basis.