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Response to the Guardian questions regarding Adani V Pennings

24 June 2022

Please find below a response to questions from the Guardian attributable to an Adani Australia spokesperson: “Today’s hearing in the Queensland Supreme Court did not strike out any part of our claim or make a fresh claim in our civil legal proceedings against anti-coal activist Ben Pennings. “We chose to nominate an amount of damages so the case can proceed to trial without the unnecessary delay to establish a greater sum we are unlikely to ever recover. Her Honour Justice Brown accepted this approach. “The facts of the matter remain that Adani brought these civil proceedings against Mr Pennings to enforce our rights, and to allow our employees and contractors to carry out legal and legitimate business activities free from intimidation and harassment. “We have previously offered to conclude these proceedings provided Mr Pennings undertakes not to participate in, or incite, any further harassment and intimidation of our employees or contractors. Mr Pennings would not have had to pay us any money as part of this settlement, but he rejected that offer and so the matter is ongoing. “The Supreme Court has ruled Mr Pennings largely unsuccessful in all his submissions in these proceedings to date. “Mr Pennings was previously ordered to pay 60% of Adani’s legal costs after he unsuccessfully sought to gain access to our confidential information early in 2021. “Mr Pennings was also wholly unsuccessful in his attempts to have Adani pay some of his legal costs, and to delay the date he must pay Adani’s legal costs. “This saw the Court order Mr Pennings to additionally pay: 60 per cent of Adani’s legal costs of the first application 80 per cent of Adani’s legal costs of the second application, and 66 per cent of Adani’s legal costs of the third application. “Adani is not required to pay any of Mr Pennings’ legal costs.” ENDS...