Lendlease Corporation Limited v Pallas

Representative actions – Practice and procedure – Orders – Notices to group members – Where representative proceeding under Pt 10 of Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) ("CPA") – Where defendant proposed to provide notice ("proposed notice") setting out its intention to seek certain order if proceeding settled – Where proposed notice indicated defendant's intention to seek orders that a group member who had neither opted out nor registered to participate in the proceeding would remain a group member, but shall not, without leave of the Court, be permitted to seek any benefit pursuant to any settlement of the proceeding that occurs before final judgment – Where unregistered group member's claims against defendant would therefore be extinguished by settlement – Where intermediate appellate court authority in conflict – Whether Supreme Court of New South Wales could make an order under s 175(5) of CPA that proposed notice be given to group members.

Words and phrases – "appellate jurisdiction", "compelling reason", "conflict of interest", "forensic advantage", "fundamental precept", "group member", "inconsistency of interest", "intention to seek an order", "intermediate appellate court", "notice", "opt in", "opt out", "plainly wrong", "power to order", "precedent", "ratio decidendi", "registration", "representative proceeding", "separate question", "seriously considered obiter dicta", "settlement", "settlement approval", "settlement negotiations", "statutory context".

Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) – Pt 10, ss 159(1), 161, 162, 166(1)(d), 171(1), 173, 175(1), 175(5), 175(6), 176, 177, 179(b), 183.