Wambo Coal Pty Limited & Anor v Pacific National (NSW) Pty Limited [This is a redacted form of judgment delivered on 12 February 2008. The Court has ordered that until further order the unredacted version of the...

In the case of Wambo Coal Pty Limited & Anor v Pacific National (NSW) Pty Limited, the dispute arose from a claim for damages in relation to alleged breaches of contract. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The plaintiffs sought an order for the trial judge to determine all questions of liability, injunctive and declaratory relief in advance of the question of quantum of any damages. This was to expedite the resolution of the case, as a separate determination of the quantum of damages would be impractical at that stage.

The legal issues that the court needed to decide included whether the requested case management order was appropriate and whether the trial judge should proceed to determine all questions of liability before addressing the quantum of damages. The court also considered the differences between this procedure and the more conventional procedure of a 'separate question determination'. Furthermore, the court had to consider the appropriate matters to be taken into account when urgent relief was sought from the Commercial List, particularly when a quantum hearing could only be held at a later date.

The court concluded that the requested case management order was appropriate in the circumstances. It was noted that the procedure sought was not the conventional 'separate question determination' procedure, but a variation that allowed for the determination of liability issues in advance. The court found that the appropriate matters to be taken into account included the urgency of the relief sought, the practicality of a quantum hearing at that stage, and the potential for the procedure to expedite the resolution of the case. The court granted the order, allowing the trial judge to initially proceed to determine the one set of issues and reserve and deliver judgment as soon as practicable. If liability was established, the balance of the quantification of damages issues would be heard at a later occasion.

The final orders of the court included the grant of the requested case management order, allowing the trial judge to determine the questions of liability, injunctive and declaratory relief in advance of the question of quantum of any damages. The court also directed the trial judge to reserve and deliver judgment on the liability issues as soon as practicable, with the understanding that the quantification of damages would be addressed at a later occasion if liability was established.