Viterra has been hit with costs for persisting with a special leave application to the High Court seeking to compel Cargill to turn over emails exchanged with its lawyers at Allens during the sale of its Joe White Maltings business, even after Cargill agreed to waive privilege and produced the documents.
A judge in the high-stakes trial over the $420 million sale of Viterra’s Joe White malt business to Cargill has denied Cargill’s request to have settlement talks admitted as evidence, shooting down the agricultural giant’s argument that the talks were needed to challenge Glencore in-house counsel’s assertion that he is of good character and will not breach a confidentiality agreement.
In-house counsel at Glencore has been granted access to “highly confidential” documents related to the possible sale by Cargill of its Joe White malt business so that he can mull a settlement offer.
A judge has ruled in-house counsel at Glencore can’t view “highly confidential” documents related to the possible sale by Cargill of its Joe White malt business.
Cargill has won court approval to amend its pleading against Viterra to include details of a law firm meeting in which Viterra executives allegedly made assurances that there were no quality issues with its malt, more than two months into the trial over the $420 million sale of Viterra’s Joe White Maltings business to Cargill in 2013.
Cargill has been ordered to turn over what it describes as “highly confidential” documents related to the possible sale of its malt business, a new revelation in the complex trial over claims Viterra fraudulently concealed crucial information when it sold malt producer Joe White Maltings to Cargill Australia in 2013 for $420 million.