Australia ( Commonwealth) _ Rugby Australia’s request for additional time to address a scathing demand from the Melbourne Rebels was rejected by a federal court judge, who concluded that the national sports organization was well aware of the accusations made against it.
The court announced the ruling during its initial hearing on Thursday. Earlier this month, the former Super Rugby team filed a damages lawsuit against Rugby Australia in the Federal Court, requesting $30 million from the top organization.
The national body responded by announcing that it will countersue the seven Rebels directors, alleging that they had been misleading it about the former rugby club’s financial situation since at least 2018.
Sydney silk Tony Bannon SC, who has worked on a number of sports administration issues, including helping the NRL with its investigation into the Storm salary cap scandal, represented Rugby Australia.
He contended that the Rebels’ statement of claim was flawed because it lacked sufficient specificity regarding the accusations it was making against the sporting organization. This includes claims that during meetings with the Rebels directors, prominent Rugby Australia representatives said specific things.
Additionally, Bannon informed the court that RA wanted additional time to decide whether to respond with a lawsuit of its own. “Whether or not these representations were made will be a real and significant credit issue,” he stated.
Bannon further informed the court that one of RA’s initial actions was to approach Leigh Clifford, a former Qantas chairman and Rio Tinto CEO who led the consortium attempting to save the Rebels, about the funding arrangement for the case.
To reassure the athletic organization that he could afford the litigation, RA requested a list of Clifford’s assets. Clifford is the father of Rebels director Georgia Widdup and is currently concentrating on private investment operations. Whether Clifford felt compelled to share his personal fortune with RA remains unclear.
According to him, we plan to file a cross-claim that involves additional parties, including the directors, but we need some time to prepare for this significant step.
Philip Crutchfield, KC, the Rebels’ attorney, informed the court that Rugby Australia was already aware of the accusations and that the sporting organization had been “stony silent” about them.
Since March 1st, Rugby Australia has been under notice, as stated in the statement of claim. “That day, we gave the draft statement of claim to Rugby Australia’s solicitors,” he said.
He said, “We gave another draft of the statement on July 9th, and it’s … basically in the same form as it is now.” Rugby Australia has made no effort whatsoever to become involved in the issue. The court received a briefing from Rugby Australia’s attorney only on October 22.
After ruling that Bannon had proven in court that he was fully aware of the case’s specifics, Justice Anderson mandated that the national rugby organization submit their counterclaim by November 7.
Crutchfield also said that any mediation should be led by a retired High Court judge and that the trial should be sped up because of the circumstances of the case, specifically the director penalty notices sent to the seven Rebels’ directors that made them personally responsible for the Super Ruby Club’s multimillion-dollar tax debt.
Justice Anderson’s revelation that one of the directors, Tim North, KC, was a friend with whom he had shared his barrister’s chambers for 20 years and had invited him over for a dinner party in the next few weeks, caused a significant disruption.
The judge informed the court that he would attempt to transfer the case to a different judge. The court is still investigating the case and keeping the matter pending.
Rugby Australia Ltd, formerly known as Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, runs Australia’s top rugby union competition and teams. It started back in 1949.
It is a World Rugby member. Rugby Australia’s eight member unions represent each state, the Northern Territory, and the Australian Capital Territory. Additionally, it oversees national rugby union teams, such as the Wallaroos and the Walllabies, who have been outstanding in international tournaments.
