Under r 7.1(2)(a) and (3) of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), a company may commence and carry on proceedings in the Supreme Court of New South Wales by a solicitor, or by a director of the company if that director of the company is also a plaintiff in the Supreme Court proceedings.
Two recent decisions of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, dealing with separate proceedings between the same parties, have read these provisions as permitting a company to commence and carry on Supreme Court proceedings by a director only if:
- the company and the director in question are both plaintiffs in the proceedings; and
- the director is a proper plaintiff in the proceedings i.e. the director has a cause of action which can be pursued in the same proceedings.
This reading of the provisions, taken by two differently constituted Courts of Appeal in the two Tanamerah Estates Pty Ltd v Tibra Capital Pty Ltd cases, is consistent with the reading taken of the provisions by earlier authorities. Read further about the cases here.
