The Victorian Court of Appeal held that a trial judge did not err in exercising her discretion under s 136 of the Evidence Act 2008 to limit the use of evidence concerning impugned related-party payments to the issue of witness credit only, refusing to allow those payments to be used as a basis for adjusting the buy-out price in an oppression proceeding under ss 232–233 of the Corporations Act 2001. The Court confirmed that while matters going purely to share valuation need not necessarily be pleaded in oppression proceedings, if an oppressed party seeks an adjustment to the buy-out price to compensate for an alleged act of oppression, that act must be pleaded; a party cannot raise such an issue for the first time in closing submissions where the opposing party has objected throughout and has been denied the opportunity to adduce responsive evidence. The Court also observed that arguments about admissibility and use of evidence at trial should be resolved by reference to the Evidence Act 2008, including ss 55, 102, 103, 135 and 136.
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