In a big legal victory for the New South Wales (NSW) government, the full bench of the Supreme Court ruled that Melco must provide documentation related to the company’s acquisition of the Crown Resorts. This decision came March 12 after the court ruled in favor of the appeal by the NSW government.

The Supreme Court overruled a prior verdict finding the regulatory agency had the legal power to demand these documents related to Melco’s acquisition of Crown Resorts from James Packer:

“The court held that the primary judge erred in concluding that… the Royal Commission Act did not confer a ‘power or authority’ on a commissioner [the judge heading the inquiry], with that section extending the general power to compel the production of documents to include the power to compel the production of legally privileged documents,” it was explained in the court’s decision.”

In February, a Supreme Court judge had ruled in favor of Melco Resorts, barring the government from being able to acquire certain documents that the New South Wales’ Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) had ordered produced. Included were the demand for nine documents which the company declared as legally privileged.