Wigmans v AMP Ltd

[2020] NSWCA 104

Court of Appeal

Supreme Court

New South Wales

• Summary available
• Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation:

Wigmans v AMP Ltd [2020] NSWCA 104

Hearing dates:

25 May 2020

Decision date:

04 June 2020

Before:

Macfarlan JA;
Leeming JA;
White JA.

Decision:

1. Grant leave to Ms Wigmans to appeal.

 

2. Direct Ms Wigmans to file a notice of appeal, in the form of the draft notice at tab 2 of the White Folder, within 7 days of today, and otherwise dispense with the requirements of service.

 

3. Appeal allowed.

 

4. Set aside order 1 made on 8 May 2020 (dismissing Ms Wigmans’ notice of motion) and the orders made on 8 May 2020 and varied on 11 May 2020 on the notice of motion dated 27 April 2020 filed by Komlotex and Fernbrook.

 

5. In lieu thereof, dismiss the notice of motion dated 27 April 2020 and set aside orders 5-8 and 11-17 made on 12 March 2020 and all orders made on 9 April 2020.

 6. The respondents to pay Ms Wigmans’ costs of the appeal and of the notices of motion dated 21 and 27 April 2020.

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

Marion Antoinette Wigmans (Applicant)
AMP Ltd (First Respondent)
Komlotex Pty Ltd (Second Respondent)
Fernbrook (Aust) Investments Pty Ltd (Third Respondent)

Representation:

Counsel:
J T Gleeson SC, A M Hochroth (Applicant)
E A Collins SC, I J M Ahmed (First Respondent)
C A Moore SC, G Donnellan, A d’Arville (Second and Third Respondents)

  Solicitors:
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (Applicant)
Herbert Smith Freehills (First Respondent)
Maurice Blackburn Lawyers (Second and Third Respondents)

File Number(s):

2020/139924

Publication restriction:

Nil

 Decision under appeal 

Court or tribunal:

Supreme Court of New South Wales

Jurisdiction:

Equity

Citation:

[2020] NSWSC 504

Date of Decision:

08 May 2020

Before:

Ward CJ in Eq

File Number(s):

2018/310118

HEADNOTE

[This headnote is not to be read as part of the decision]

Separate representative proceedings were brought against AMP Ltd on behalf of certain shareholders under Pt 10 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW). The applicant in this Court, Ms Wigmans, was the representative plaintiff in one proceeding, and Komlotex Pty Ltd and Fernbrook (Aust) Investments Pty Ltd (the second and third respondents in this Court) were representative plaintiffs in two others. The proceedings alleged that AMP’s non-disclosure of conduct resulted in group members acquiring interests in AMP shares at an inflated price from 2012 to 2018, and that the share price declined after the relevant conduct was revealed during hearings of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry in 2018, causing group members to suffer loss.

In May 2019, the Komlotex and Fernbrook proceedings were consolidated into a single proceeding, and the Wigmans proceeding was permanently stayed. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from the permanent stay, but in April 2020, the High Court granted Ms Wigmans leave to appeal against that decision. In May 2020, the primary judge made orders over Ms Wigmans’ opposition providing for distribution of…