David William Pallas & Julie Ann Pallas as trustees for the Pallas Family Superannuation Fund v Lendlease Corporation Limited; Martin John Fletcher v Lendlease Corporation Limited [2019] NSWSC 1631

David William Pallas & Julie Ann Pallas as trustees for the Pallas Family Superannuation Fund v Lendlease Corporation Limited; Martin John Fletcher v Lendlease Corporation Limited [2019] NSWSC 1631

The court held there was no good reason in principle to depart from the established rule requiring one solicitor on the record for plaintiffs, particularly where plaintiffs' interests are not divergent; departure would be detrimental to case management, risk duplication and increased costs, and the purported benefits of joint representation in this case are illusory. Consolidation of proceedings was ordered, but the application for joint solicitors was refused.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
21 November 2019
Procedural Posture
Representative Proceedings (class Actions) / Procedural Application Prior to Substantive Hearing; Application for Joint Solicitors and Consolidation
Outcome
Proceedings consolidated; application for joint solicitors refused
Legal Topics
['representative Proceedings' 'class Actions' 'case Management' 'legal Representation' 'consolidation of Proceedings']
['civil Procedure' 'equity'] ['representative Proceedings' 'class Actions' 'case Management' 'legal Representation' 'consolidation of Proceedings']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Representative Proceedings (class Actions) / Procedural Application Prior to Substantive Hearing; Application for Joint Solicitors and Consolidation

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether duplicate class actions against the same defendants should be consolidated' 'Whether the court should permit joint solicitors on the record for the plaintiffs, relaxing the one solicitor for plaintiffs rule']

Ratio Decidendi

The court held there was no good reason in principle to depart from the established rule requiring one solicitor on the record for plaintiffs, particularly where plaintiffs' interests are not divergent; departure would be detrimental to case management, risk duplication and increased costs, and the purported benefits of joint representation in this case are illusory. Consolidation of proceedings was ordered, but the application for joint solicitors was refused.

Court Disposition

Proceedings consolidated; application for joint solicitors refused

Orders

  • ['Pallas and Fletcher proceedings are consolidated.' 'Prayer for Maurice Blackburn and Phi Finney McDonald to be jointly named as solicitors on the record is dismissed.' 'Until agreement or resolution of who will be the solicitor on the record, Maurice Blackburn (the solicitor on the record in Pallas) shall be the...