Federal Court of Australia
Federal Treasury Enterprise (FKP) Sojuzplodoimport v Spirits International B.V. (Further Conduct of Proceedings) (No 2) [2022] FCA 543
ORDERS
FEDERAL TREASURY ENTERPRISE (FKP) SOJUZPLODOIMPORT First Cross-Claimant FEDERAL PUBLIC UNITARY ENTERPRISE EXTERNAL ECONOMIC UNION SOJUZPLODOIMPORT (FGUP VO) Second Cross-Claimant | ||
AND: | Cross-Respondent | |
DATE OF ORDER: |
THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
The Permanent Stay
1. The Cross-Respondent’s interlocutory application dated 7 December 2018, which was remitted to this Court by the Full Court on 1 July 2021, be determined first and on the papers.
2. The Cross-Respondent file and serve, by 25 May 2022, written submissions of no more than 10 pages addressing the application.
3. The Cross-Claimants file and serve, by 8 June 2022, written submissions of no more than 10 pages addressing the application.
4. The Cross-Respondent file and serve, by 15 June 2022, any submissions in reply.
5. Neither party’s written submissions are to include a schedule although each party may annex the orders which they seek to their written submissions.
6. Any proposed orders which are annexed in accordance with Order 5 are not to be counted towards the 10 page limit.
Security for Costs
7. The Cross-Respondent file and serve, by 12 August 2022, any application i for Security for Costs (‘the Security Application’) together with any affidavit evidence which it wishes to rely upon.
8. The Cross-Claimants file and serve, by 19 August 2022 any affidavit evidence which they wish to rely upon in opposition to the Security Application.
9. The Cross-Respondent file and serve, by 26 August 2022, written submissions of no more than 10 pages addressing the Security Application.
10. The Cross-Claimants file and serve, by 9 September 2022, written submissions of no more than 10 pages addressing the Security Application.
11. The Cross-Respondent file and serve, by 16 September 2022, any submissions in reply.
12. The Cross-Respondent’s application is to be determined on the papers.
13. All questions of costs are to be postponed until after the trial.
The Pleadings
14. The parties file and serve, by 16 January 2022, interlocutory applications in respect of any pleading debate foreshadowed at the case management hearings on 11 and 27 April 2022 which are not currently supported by an extant application.
15. Any application filed in accordance with Order 14 is to be listed for hearing on 21 and 22 March 2023 together with any extant application relating to pleadings.
16. In respect of any application filed pursuant to Order 14 and any extant application:
a. The moving party on each application is to file and serve written submissions of no more than 10 pages, by 31 January 2023.
b. The responding party to each application is to file and serve written submissions of no more than 10 pages, by 14 February 2023.
c. The moving party on each application is to file and serve any submissions in reply by 21 February 2023.
Further Material
17. The question of what the ‘material’ referred to by the Full Court in Federal Treasury Enterprise (FKP) Sojuzplodoimport v Spirits International B.V. [2021] FCAFC 77 at [19] might be (the ‘further material issue’) is to be determined at the hearing on 21 and 22 March 2023.
18. The Cross-Claimants file and serve, by 19 December 2022, any affidavit evidence which they wishes to rely upon in relation to the further material issue.
19. The Cross-Respondent file and serve, by 16 January 2023, any affidavit evidence which it wishes to rely upon in relation to the further material issue.
20. The Cross-Claimants file and serve, by 31 January 2023:
a. Any affidavit evidence on which they wish to rely in reply; and
b. written submissions of no more than 10 pages addressing the further material issue.
21. The Cross-Respondent file and serve, by 14 February 2023, written submissions of no more than 10 pages addressing the further material issue.
22. The Cross-Claimants file and serve, by 21 February 2023, any submissions in reply.
Materials for Hearing
23. The parties file, by 7 March 2023, a digital court book and joint list of authorities.
24. The digital court book and joint list of authorities be in the form of:
a. Two single PDF documents, each optimised to permit the use of search and annotation functionality; and
b. Contain bookmarks to the first page of each document in the compilation; and
c. Any annotated pagination is to match the pagination of both the internal PDF file and that of any hardcopy produced for the purpose of the hearing.
25. Any questions arising from or in relation to the preparation of the digital court book are to be directed to the Associate to Justice Perram.
The Temporary Stay
26. The temporary stay, ordered on 20 November 2017, be lifted to the extent necessary to permit the steps outlined in these orders to be taken.
Note: Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.
PERRAM J:
1 The parties remain in dispute about the procedure to be adopted despite the Court’s previous determination of that matter: Federal Treasury Enterprise (FKP) Sojuzplodoimport v Spirits International B.V. (Further Conduct of Proceedings) [2022] FCA 150. Recently, 45 minutes were frittered away at a case management hearing on the topic of the short minutes order that I directed the parties to bring in to give effect to the Court’s most recent reasons. Since the parties are unable to agree on anything, I will now make these further determinations.
2 The question of the terms of the stay is to be determined first and on the papers. Spirits is to file within 2 weeks submissions on what it says the stay should be. FKP’s submissions should be filed within a further 2 weeks. Any reply by Spirits should be filed within a further 7 days. The submissions are not to exceed 10 pages although they may annex the orders which are sought in addition to that page limit. There are to be no schedules.
3 Once the question of the stay is determined, the Court will resolve any outstanding issues as to security for costs. This is to be done on the papers. This is to be done by the same 14+14+7 structure above with affidavits being prepared within that timeline. The security for costs issues should assume that the future costs include:
(1) the pleading debates foreshadowed at the last case management hearing;
(2) the determination of what the further ‘material’ referred to by the Full Court might be; and
(3) that all questions of costs will be postponed until after trial.
4 If any of the pleading debates are not currently supported by an interlocutory application, an application should be filed to be returnable at the hearing referred to below in [5].
5 The hearing on the issues relating to the pleadings and ‘further materials’ will take place on 2 consecutive days suitable to both parties in March 2023.
6 Timetabling orders will need to be made for that hearing. The moving party on each pleading issue should go first and a 14+14+7 structure adopted with a 10 page limit. On the ‘material’ issue, FKP should go first with a 14+14+7 structure with the same 10 page limit. The timetable should work backwards from 4 weeks before the agreed hearing date and exclude vacation periods. It should accommodate affidavits.
7 Two weeks before the hearing, the parties should submit a digital court book with all of the materials for the hearing. The form of the court book should be determined in consultation with my chambers.
8 The temporary stay should be lifted sufficiently to permit these steps to be taken.
9 I would ordinarily direct the parties to bring in short minutes of order to give effect to these reasons. However, I have no confidence that going down that path would not result in further disputation. This is, of course, disappointing – but there it is. In the circumstances, I have drafted the orders myself.
I certify that the preceding nine (9) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Justice Perram. |
Associate:
