New Commercial Court Practice Note – Supreme Court of Victoria

March 20, 2024 by JW in Civil litigation, Civil Procedure, Commercial Court, Commercial Division, Practice and Procedure, Practice Note SC CC 1

Do you have carriage of proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria’s Commercial Court?

If yes, this post is for you.

The Commercial Court has released an updated Practice Note SC CC 1 (second revision) which came into effect on 26 February 2024. It replaces the previous version from 21 December 2017.

The new Practice Note is refreshingly minimal, at only 11 main paragraphs. Read on for the main takeaways.

A bit of VCAT's jurisdiction is restored

November 16, 2023 by JW in Civil litigation, Civil Procedure, Contribution, Procedure, VCAT

Some of the recent uncertainty regarding VCAT’s jurisdiction has resolved with the passing of the Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2023 (Vic) (JLAA) on 10 July 2023. Here’s what you need to know regarding limitations, contribution claims, and jurisdiction.

Misleading and deceptive conduct in the sale of a business

September 08, 2023 by JW in Civil Procedure, Commercial Court, Contracts, Misleading and deceptive, Court of Appeal, Section 236 ACL damages, Sale of business

Disputes regarding falsified figures from the sale of a business are commonplace in commercial litigation. The allegation is frequently heard that a vendor has misrepresented the amount of sales and profits from their business in order to “fatten the pig for market”. The Victorian Court of Appeal recently delivered a decision in H & Q Cafe Pty Ltd v Melbourne Cafe Pty Ltd & Anor [2023] VSCA 200 which contains important learnings for those involved in sale of business disputes.

VCAT: what is happening with jurisdiction and limitation changes?

May 18, 2023 by JW in Civil litigation, Civil Procedure

There’s been a flurry of online commentary about the recent cases which have curtailed VCAT’s jurisdiction recently.

I was going to write a post about it, but then the LPLC provided this great article prepared by Moray & Agnew.

In case you missed it, below are the key takeaways from the article. Well worth a read if any part of your practice involves proceedings in VCAT.

Finally, the Supreme Court rules allow single exhibit certificates

October 04, 2021 by JW in Civil Procedure, Procedure

Rule 43 and Form 43A (effective from 1 October 2021) allow a paginated bundle of documents to be filed behind a single exhibit certificate. Halleloo! It was such a waste of time preparing exhibit certificates.

Contribution and indemnity

March 15, 2019 by JW in Civil litigation, Civil Procedure, Commercial Court, Supreme Court of Victoria, County Court of Victoria

‘Contribution and indemnity’ are concepts used to identify which defendant (or third party) is liable for a plaintiff’s loss, usually in a tort or contract case. Contribution refers to the dividing up of a plaintiff’s damages between two, or multiple parties found liable.

Directors' duties under the Corporations Act

November 27, 2018 by JW in Civil Procedure, Civil litigation, Commercial Court, Corporations Act, County Court of Victoria, Supreme Court of Victoria

The recent case of United Petroleum Australia Pty Ltd v Herbert Smith Freehills [2018] VSC 347 decided by Elliot J provides a good summary of the directors duties set out in the Corporations Act. Without discussing the facts or findings of this case, the summary of the duties is very useful.

What constitutes a ‘memorandum or note’ pursuant to section 126 of the Instruments Act?

October 16, 2018 by JW in Civil litigation, Civil Procedure, Commercial Court, County Court of Victoria, Instruments Act, Fraud, Memorandum or note

If a key instrument requiring a signature (ie a loan, mortgage) has not been signed but surrounding documents which refer to the instrument have been signed, what should lawyers do? One of the most helpful provisions available in such circumstances is section 126 of the Instruments Act 1958 (Vic)

How to get a freezing order

June 06, 2018 by JW in Civil litigation, Civil Procedure, Procedure, Freezing Order, Asset Preservation Order, Rule 37A Supreme Court, Practice Note SC Gen 17, Mareva Order

A freezing order is to prevent execution of a judgment or other court process from being rendered ineffective. This article considers the tests for obtaining a freezing order, the relevant rules, and some of the difficulties and subtleties.

Security for costs

February 01, 2018 by JW in Civil litigation, Civil Procedure, County Court of Victoria, Supreme Court of Victoria, Procedure, Advocacy, Security for costs

A broad overview of the main discretionary issues to consider when applying for, or resisting, a security for costs application.

Commercial Court digital paperless strategy

November 30, 2017 by JW in Civil Procedure, Civil litigation, Practice Notes, Supreme Court of Victoria, Technology

The Supreme Court's has ambitions to achieve an end-to-end paperless court and trial system. The Court is determined not to allow its 19th century building get in the way of 21st century trials. A full copy of the paper is available here.

Documentary advocacy in commercial trials: what does the judge want?

October 04, 2017 by JW in Procedure, Civil Procedure, Practice Notes, Civil litigation, Court Books, Advocacy, Technology

Here are ten tips to prepare for a commercial trial, based on a paper prepared by Justice Hargrave (principal judge of the Supreme Court’s Commercial Court) in 2017, and a previous version of the paper from 2014.

In short, good advocacy involves strategic out-of-court preparation, including considered ‘documentary advocacy’, awareness of the Civil Procedure rules, harnessing technology, and early analysis and editing of the case.