High Court gives New Hope $155m boost
New Hope has been given a $155 million reprieve from the High Court after it ruled in their favour in a long-running dispute involving the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal.
New Hope has waited more than a decade for approval of the Acland expansion
It still leaves a second case before the High Court after it granted leave to appeal to environmental group Oakey Coal Action Alliance to appeal a decision from the Queensland courts over the Acland coal mine expansion.
New Hope has previously won court cases in the NSW Supreme Court over whether it is liable for the debt of Colton Coal and Northern Energy in relation to WICET under a deed of cross guarantee. Both Colton and NEC collapsed and went into administration last year with debts to WICET.
If leave to appeal had been granted and the eventual ruling had been made in WICET’s favour, New Hope would have been exposed to the liability under the deed of cross guarantee of approximately $155 million.
The company has been successful in defending the claim at first instance and on appeal and continues to deny this claim.
If WICET and the liquidators are unsuccessful in their application for special leave to the High Court or unsuccessful in any appeal to the High Court, the company considers it likely that liquidators may seek to pursue any alleged potential claims against the company or the former directors of NEC and Colton Coal which are the subject of their current investigations.
The High Court dismissed with costs the application.
“This leaves in place the determinations of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal in NSW that the company has not guaranteed the debts of NEC and Colton under the company’s deed of cross guarantee.
