Elizabeth Cheeseman SC and Matt Karam recently represented the respondent in urgently setting aside mandatory and prohibitory injunctive relief obtained on an ex parte basis in DWA Insurance Pty Ltd v Community Broker Network Pty Ltd (No 2) [2020] NSWSC 376. The NSW Supreme Court ruled that the respondent may terminate or revoke the member’s authorised representative licences pursuant to s916B(7) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) after inquiries into the member’s business conduct. In discharging the ex parte orders, Robb J held that the balance of convenience clearly favoured the discharging of the orders.
The Court also considered that there was real doubt as to whether the applicant had established a sufficient probability of success in its claim that the respondent breached the authorised representative agreement and that there was a real possibility that, if hearing time had permitted the issue to be considered in depth, it would have concluded that the orders should have been discharged on the basis that the applicant did not adequately disclose all of the information in its possession relevant to the issue of whether the order should be made.
The case involved numerous remote hearings before various duty judges in equity in the NSW Supreme Court at the height of Covid-19 restrictions. Elizabeth and Matt were instructed by Samantha O’Brien, Jonathon Ellis, Gajendran Balachandran and Adriana Abu Abara of DLA Piper.
Link to the judgment can be found here: https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/5e8d2a46e4b0d927f74ae9b9
Insurance News article can be viewed here: https://www.insurancenews.com.au/daily/court-allows-ar-network-to-terminate-members-licences
