In its proceedings against an engineering construction company, gas giant Santos has racked up a whopping 120,000 solicitors’ hours, $35.5 million in expert fees and $21 million in counsel fees.
The Supreme Court of Queensland made a determination late last week (14 April) on the case of Santos Limited v Fluor Australia Pty Ltd & Anor, in which the gas giant has, thus far, expended significant financial resources on legal counsel and costs and has seen the parties in question produce a disclose a significant number of documents throughout the proceedings.
The case arose from the construction of the upstream component of a coal-seam gas project between 2011 and 2014 and is part of litigation between Santos and Fluor Australia Pty Ltd and Fluor Corporation (Fluor), and concerns alleged overpayments made by Santos to Fluor.
Prior to commencing proceedings, the gas giant began a year-long investigation into these alleged overpayments and began engaging legal advisers to assess legal options.
Santos’ solicitor informed the court that in the proceeding, the plaintiff expended over 120,000 solicitors’ hours, $36.5 million in expert fees, $21 million in counsel fees, and $2.5 million in other costs.
The scale of the proceeding was also of significant note; the parties disclosed over five million documents (5,700,349), there were 14 experts who produced 81 expert reports, and 90 lay witnesses who produced 178 witness statements.
Read more
