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A Brisbane environmental activist has claimed to have had a "major win" against mining giant Adani after a Supreme Court judge struck out multiple allegations in their case against him.
Adani — now operating as Bravus in Australia — first sued campaigner Ben Pennings in 2020.
The mining company claimed Mr Penning had continually demanded its contractors terminate or withdraw from negotiations to disrupt operations at its Carmichael coal mine in central Queensland.
Lawyers for the company allege Mr Pennings led a campaign under the protest group Galilee Blockage, "infiltrating and seeking employment with Adani for the purpose of obtaining confidential information".
Dozens of people supporting Ben Pennings gathered outside Brisbane's Supreme court to protest. (ABC News: Arianna Levy)
The case will be listed for trial next year, but with several allegations made in Adani's application removed.
Justice Susan Brown ruled to keep an injunction which prevented Mr Pennings from using confidential information obtained through his campaigns.
Ben Pennings addressed the crowd outside the Supreme Court. (ABC News: Arianna Levy)
In her judgement, Justice Brown said she did not find an "abuse of process" by Adani, as had been argued by Mr Pennings' lawyers, and found "a need for the matter to go to trial".
Mr Pennings' lawyers had argued that the case should be thrown out.
'Major win' claims from both sides
Speaking outside court, Mr Pennings said he was relieved by the outcome.
"The case against me is not over completely but a vast majority of allegations against me have been struck out by the Supreme Court," he said.
The proceedings have spanned more than four years, which Mr Pennings said had taken a toll on his family.
"It's a major win. Everyone is happy, and I have a lot of faith the strength of this judgement will lead Adani to either drop the case or try to settle."
Isabella Pennings spoke about the toll her father's case has taken on the family. (ABC News: Arianna Levy)
A Bravus Mining and Resources spokesperson said the company welcomed the court's decision.
"We brought these civil proceedings against Mr Pennings in 2020 to enforce our rights and allow employees and contractors of our Carmichael mine … to carry out legal and legitimate business activities free from intimidation and harassment."
It said Mr Penning's application was "wholly or largely unsuccessful".
The judgement gave Adani 28 days to appeal the ruling and re-build its case against Mr Pennings.
'Up against' Adani
Lawyers for Adani had previously submitted that the one-day court application for Mr Pennings would cost him more than $800,000.
The legal costs have been stayed until proceedings have finished.
The mining company claimed Mr Penning had continually demanded its contractors terminate or withdraw from negotiations. (Supplied: Facebook: Bravus Mining and Resources)
Justice Brown is expected to set a trial date in 2025.
"I'm up against Adani, I don't have a billion dollars, I don't even have a million dollars," Mr Pennings said outside court.
The judgement is two weeks after US authorities issued an arrest warrant for Gautam Adani over an alleged multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme.
"Whether it's mining corporations, peaceful citizens need to be protected to be able to protest and do that in a safe way," said Mr Pennings.