‘Critical email’ key to establishing deal between Inpex and Halikos: Court

A ‘CRITICAL email’ at the centre of a multi-million dollar legal battle between Inpex and property giant Halikos could be key to proving a disputed deal between the two companies existed, a court has heard

An artist’s impression of the planned hotel Halikos says hinged on its deal with Inpex

A “CRITICAL email” at the centre of a multi-million legal battle between Inpex and property giant Halikos could be key to proving a disputed deal between the two companies existed, a court has heard.

Halikos sued Inpex in 2017, alleging it reneged on a deal that would have seen Halikos supply between 150 and 225 apartments and hotel rooms for Inpex workers over 15 years.

Justice Judith Kelly dismissed Halikos’s claims in 2018 and the Supreme Court heard an appeal of that decision on Wednesday.

• NT Property developer Halikos takes its case against Inpex to the Court of Appeal

Halikos’s lawyer, Dick Whitington QC, told the court a “critical email” from Inpex construction manager Chris Wheeldon to Halikos managing director Shane Dignan in July 2014 effectively confirmed an earlier commitment from the Japanese gas merchant to go ahead with the deal.

“The original signed letter should suffice for the first agreement until such time all agreements can be again rolled up into one tidy provision which I believe will be more easily executable,” the letter read.

“My apologise (sic) for the delay but you must try and understand there are many players and processes associated with this type of agreement that need to be considered and we appreciate your moving forward in good faith.”

• Former Chief Minister Adam Giles wanted to avoid Halikos, Inpex war, NT Supreme Court hears

Justice Kelly ruled the email “could amount to an expression of opinion by Mr Wheeldon that he considered there had been a ‘done deal’”, but criticised its wording as “vague” and “enigmatic”.

But Mr Whitington said it was insufficient to dismiss the email as just an opinion.

“Here you have an intimate player in these events on the Inpex side conceding that the letter amounts to an agreement,” he said.

“We say that her honour unfairly dismissed this evidence at paragraph 197 where she seems to suggest, if it is acknowledging an agreement back on the 13th of February, it’s merely Mr Wheeldon’s opinion.”

• Northern Territory firm Halikos loses epic court case against oil and gas giant Inpex

Halikos started building a multistorey hotel on Mitchell Street on the back of the agreement and Mr Whitington said the company would have had time to change its plans before it was too late if Inpex had been upfront about not requiring the rooms.

Mr Whitington also cited a subsequent letter from Halikos executive general manager Geoff Weeks to Inpex director Hitoshi Okawa as evidence of a pre-existing deal between the companies.

• LIMITED time deal: Your NT News subscription delivers much, much more than you expect. And all for just $5 a month*

“From this point on it’s clear that it’s been represented to Halikos that they have an agreement for the rooms and everybody knows that they are building the hotel to accommodate a large slice of those rooms,” he said.

The hearing continues.