Rinehart v Rinehart

Court of Appeal

Supreme Court

New South Wales

• Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation:

Rinehart v Rinehart [2021] NSWCA 228

Hearing dates:

16 September 2021

Date of orders:

21 September 2021

Decision date:

21 September 2021

Before:

Meagher JA; Payne JA

Decision:

(1)   Dismiss the summons for leave to appeal

(2)   Order the applicant pay the respondents’ costs of the summons

Catchwords:

CIVIL PROCEDURE – leave to appeal – where proceeding referred to arbitration and balance stayed – whether arbitration agreement applied to referred proceeding – whether error in ordering stay – leave to appeal refused

Legislation Cited:

Commercial Arbitration Act 2010 (NSW), ss 2, 8, 16

Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 247A

Cases Cited:

Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Schlaepfer [2017] NSWCA 247

Be Financial Pty Ltd as trustee for Be Financial Operations Trust v Das [2012] NSWCA 164

Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd v Rinehart (2017) 257 FCR 442; [2017] FCAFC 170

House v The King (1936) 55 CLR 499; [1936] HCA 4

Jaycar Pty Ltd v Lombardo [2011] NSWCA 284

Rinehart v Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd (2019) 267 CLR 514; [2019] HCA 13

Rinehart v Welker (2012) 95 NSWLR 221; [2012] NSWCA 95

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

Bianca Hope Rinehart as trustee for the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust (Applicant)
Georgina Hope Rinehart (First Respondent)
Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd (Second Respondent)
Tadeusz Watroba (Third Respondent)
Jay Elliot Newby (Fourth Respondent)

Representation:

Counsel:
D Thomas SC, D Hume (Applicant)
P Brereton SC, TE O’Brien, DP Farinha (First Respondent)
J Giles SC, C Colquhoun, C Mitchell (Second Respondent)

Solicitors:
YPOL Lawyers (Applicant)
Jones Day (First, Third and Fourth Respondents)
Corrs Chambers Westgarth (Second Respondent)

File Number(s):

2020/77179

Publication restriction:

Nil

 Decision under appeal 

Court or tribunal:

Supreme Court of New South Wales

Jurisdiction:

Equity

Citation:

[2020] NSWSC 68; [2020] NSWSC 235

Date of Decision:

14 February 2020

Before:

Ward CJ in Eq

File Number(s):

2017/86718

Judgment

1. THE COURT: The applicant, Ms Bianca Rinehart, seeks leave to appeal from interlocutory orders made by Ward CJ in Eq (the primary judge) on 14 February 2020, and consequential costs orders made on 23 March 2020. The underlying proceeding (2017/86718) was commenced by the applicant in her capacity as trustee for the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust (HMH Trust) on 21 March 2017. We will refer to the applicant as “Bianca” without intending any disrespect. As trustee of the HMH Trust, the applicant holds 24% of the shares in the second respondent, Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd (HPPL). The remaining 76% of HPPL’s shares are owned by the first respondent, Ms Gina Rinehart, who is also the Executive Chairman of HPPL and was trustee of the HMH Trust until 28 May 2015.

2. The challenged orders referred the disputes the subject of the underlying proceeding, other than a claim for relief under Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 247A, to arbitration and stayed the balance of that proceeding, including the application under s 247A (the s 247A Application,…