Australian Unity Funds Management Limited v NorthWest Healthcare Australia RE Limited [2021] NSWSC 1039

Australian Unity Funds Management Limited v NorthWest Healthcare Australia RE Limited [2021] NSWSC 1039

Leave to discontinue was granted because the factual substratum for the judicial advice no longer existed after NorthWest withdrew its proposal due to lack of sufficient support, and therefore there was no utility in proceeding. Each party was ordered to bear its own costs, departing from the usual rule, because the proceedings became unnecessary by circumstances beyond the plaintiff's control, there was no determination on the merits, no party acted unreasonably, and there was no 'event' in the sense required by the costs rules.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
18 August 2021
Procedural Posture
Judicial Advice Application (equity Corporations List) / Leave to Discontinue Sought; Costs Determination
Outcome
Leave to discontinue proceedings granted; each party to pay its own costs.
Legal Topics
['judicial Advice' 'trusts' 'managed Investment Schemes' 'discontinuance of Proceedings' 'costs']
['equity' 'corporations Law'] ['judicial Advice' 'trusts' 'managed Investment Schemes' 'discontinuance of Proceedings' 'costs']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Judicial Advice Application (equity Corporations List) / Leave to Discontinue Sought; Costs Determination

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether leave should be granted to the plaintiff to discontinue the proceedings' 'Whether any order as to costs should be made and, if so, in what terms, where proceedings become moot and are discontinued by leave, and where there has been no determination on the merits']

Ratio Decidendi

Leave to discontinue was granted because the factual substratum for the judicial advice no longer existed after NorthWest withdrew its proposal due to lack of sufficient support, and therefore there was no utility in proceeding. Each party was ordered to bear its own costs, departing from the usual rule, because the proceedings became unnecessary by circumstances beyond the plaintiff's control, there was no determination on the merits, no party acted unreasonably, and there was no 'event' in the sense required by the costs rules.

Court Disposition

Leave to discontinue proceedings granted; each party to pay its own costs.

Orders

  • ['Leave granted to the Plaintiff to discontinue the proceedings.' 'Order that each party pay its own costs of the proceedings.']