Court rejects assertion of litigation privilege by non-party controlling litigation (Minera Las Bambas SA and another v Glencore Queensland Ltd and others)

Article summary

Dispute Resolution analysis: The court granted Minera’s application for inspection of documents which had been disclosed to it; but over which Glencore asserted litigation privilege. That litigation privilege was said to arise as a result of proceedings being taken in Minera’s name in Peru; but which Glencore alleged it controlled (albeit in Minera’s name). The court found that the right to assert litigation privilege did not vest in Glencore, but in Minera as a result of the fact that the proceedings in Peru were being taken, ostensibly, by it. Further, the court would not exercise its inherent jurisdiction to prevent inspection simply because the application for inspection was made nine months after completion of disclosure. Moreover, it was not open to Glencore to allege that following disclosure it had reviewed its disclosure and determined that the documents over which it asserted privilege did not meet the disclosure test. Once...