Clive Palmer loses appeal over secret deal
The joint venture companies behind Clive Palmer’s collapsed Queensland Nickel have lost a legal bid to force a barrister to detail inside knowledge of a settlement.
The joint venture companies behind Clive Palmer’s collapsed Queensland Nickel have lost a legal bid to force a barrister to detail inside knowledge of a settlement agreed to in the refinery’s liquidation trial.
Mr Palmer’s companies, QNI Metals and QNI Resources, which owned the refinery managed by Queensland Nickel, had claimed the appointment of the barrister to represent the funder of the Queensland Nickel liquidation lawsuit breached a settlement deed.
Vannin Capital, which bought some of the debts owed by Queensland Nickel and bankrolled the general purpose liquidator, is chasing $US18.6m used to buy a private jet in separate legal proceedings.
The barrister had acted for Queensland Nickel in the liquidation trial and was involved in the settlement agreement between the liquidator and Mr Palmer’s companies. Mr Palmer’s companies claimed the barrister had inside knowledge that would affect the Vannin case.
Despite the barrister resigning from the Vannin case, the companies launched legal action in the Supreme Court last year, seeking orders for Vannin and the barrister to serve affidavits detailing all information shared between them so that the joint venture companies could ascertain if any confidential information had been leaked.
The application was dismissed.
Appeal Court judge James Henry described the relief being sought as “novel and invasive”. Mr Palmer’s lawyers appealed the Supreme Court ruling on eight counts, all of which were dismissed by the Appeal Court.
About 800 workers lost their jobs when the Townsville-based Queensland Nickel collapsed in 2016 with debts of more than $200m. The federal government spent more than $66m to cover employee entitlements.
The government then appointed a special purpose liquidator to chase the money in the liquidation process.
In the separate legal matter, Vannin claims Queensland Nickel was the guarantor of a loan from GE Capital to Palmer Aviation used to buy the Bombardier Global Express aircraft famously emblazoned with the Palmer United Party logo.