Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union v. Boral Resources (Vic) Pty Ltd & Ors

Lower Court Judgment

24/10/2014 Supreme Court of Victoria (Court of Appeal) (Ashley, Redlich & Weinberg JJA)

[2014] VSCA 261

Catchwords

Procedure – Contempt – Disobedience of Court Orders – Where first to sixth respondents sought orders in the Supreme Court of Victoria that appellant be punished for contempt of Court constituted by alleged disobedience in relation to orders made by the Supreme Court of Victoria on 5 April 2013 – Where first to sixth respondents obtained orders requiring the appellant to make discovery of documents in accordance with r 29.07 of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2005 (Vic) for the purpose of proving appellant’s liability – Whether the Victorian Court of Appeal erred by refusing leave to appeal against the decision to order discovery because of the criminal nature of contempt proceedings – Whether a plaintiff in contempt proceedings can invoke court processes to compel the production of documents by a corporate defendant.

Short Particulars