One of the largest set of group proceedings yet commenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria is set to start tomorrow (Monday 29 October 2012). The trial will be heard by his Honour Justice Croft and at this stage is estimated to run for 4-5 months. Interestingly, the Supreme Court is providing a live streaming facility on its website, for the viewing of the opening addresses. The webcast portal may be found here.

The Great Southern class actions comprise in excess of 22,000 group members and individual plaintiffs. According to the Supreme Court website, there are 16 group proceedings and 12 individual proceedings which were commenced in the Supreme Court with respect to various agribusiness projects (managed investment schemes) undertaken by Great Southern on behalf of investors. The various agribusiness projects included forestry, horticulture, viticulture and cattle schemes. There are also a large number of County Court proceedings which were uplifted to the Supreme Court (though a large number of these were stayed pending the outcome of the trial).

In broad terms, the Great Southern class actions involve various claims against the Great Southern entities and their directors, including whether certain product disclosure statements for the various agribusiness projects complied with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), and whether the Great Southern entities breached their statutory duties as responsible entities variously of the managed investment schemes. There are also allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct.

Each of the 16 separate group proceedings, brought pursuant to Part IVA of the Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic) relates to a distinct product disclosure statement issued in respect of one or more Great Southern managed investment schemes. The plaintiffs were investors in these schemes.

In the months leading up to the commencement of trial, there have been a multitude of pre-trial issues to be addressed, and disputes to be resolved. One of these has been a contest between the parties as to whether a claim for privilege could be maintained by Great Southern Managers Australia Limited (GSMAL) in a board paper that contained some legal advice. The plaintiffs/investors wanted to tender the so-called “2005 Board Paper” at trial. The issue was whether or not  s 124 of the Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) permitted them to do so.

Last month, on 5 September 2012, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment on the issue. Aside from a minor point as to the breadth of the declaration to be made, their Honours agreed with his Honour Sifris J, who had held at first instance that  s 124 of the Act permitted the plaintiffs/investors to tender the document.

Various arguments were advanced, but in essence, the issue turned on the proper construction and operation of s 124 of the Act; the section governing the loss of client legal privilege where the privilege is that of joint clients. Section 124 provides as follows –

“124. Loss of client legal privilege – joint clients

(1) This section only applies to a civil proceeding in connection with which 2 or more parties have, before the commencement of the proceeding, jointly retained a lawyer in relation to the same matter.

(2) This Division does not prevent one of those parties from adducing evidence of – 

(a) a communication made by any one of them to the lawyer; or

(b) the contents of a confidential document prepared by or at the direction or request of any one of them – 

in connection with that matter.”

The legal advice said to be contained in the June 2005 Board Paper consisted of emails which contained legal advice provided to GSMAL as principal client, which had been sought by GSMAL for the benefit also of scheme members (investors).

The Court of Appeal agreed with Sifris J’s conclusion that the requirement of a lawyer having been ‘jointly retained’ in s 124(1) was met in circumstances where the advice as sought for the benefit of the scheme members (investors). The section does not require all of the joint privilege holders to expressly retain the lawyer. It is directed to the substance of the transaction, not the agency through which it is effected. (See [21]-[30]).

For this and other reasons, the Court of Appeal held the plaintiffs/investors entitled to adduce evidence of the 2005 Board Paper at the trial. The judgment may be read in full here.

It will be interesting to see how this proceeding unfolds, including how significant this particular evidence proves to be.