Skyscanner Limited v Hotels Combined Pty Ltd (No. 2) [2016] NSWSC 326

Skyscanner Limited v Hotels Combined Pty Ltd (No. 2) [2016] NSWSC 326

All categories of documents to be discovered required a confidentiality regime because, in the context of trade rivals, category (b) information combined with category (a) could reveal commercially sensitive referral fee information, category (c) contractual arrangements were accepted to be commercially sensitive, and categories (d) and (e) could reveal usage patterns and business insights prejudicial to Skyscanner. Category (a) alone could be inspected by Mr Sunny Gupta upon a confidentiality undertaking because it would not itself reveal the prejudicial referral fee information and would assist Hotels Combined to instruct its lawyers and expert. The review motion was a discrete issue...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
24 March 2016
Procedural Posture
Procedural Ruling on Discovery, Confidentiality Regime and Costs / Orders Following Review of Registrar in Equity's Discovery Orders
Outcome
Confidentiality regime ordered for all categories of documents discovered; Skyscanner ordered to pay two-thirds of Hotels Combined's costs of the motion.
Legal Topics
['discovery Between Trade Rivals' 'confidential Documents' 'inspection of Discovered Documents' 'access by Executives to Confidential Documents' 'costs of Interlocutory Applications' "review of Registrar's Decision"]
['practice and Procedure' 'costs'] ['discovery Between Trade Rivals' 'confidential Documents' 'inspection of Discovered Documents' 'access by Executives to Confidential Documents' 'costs of Interlocutory Applications' "review of Registrar's Decision"]

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Procedural Posture

Procedural Ruling on Discovery, Confidentiality Regime and Costs / Orders Following Review of Registrar in Equity's Discovery Orders

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Which documents discovered by Skyscanner should be treated as confidential and subject to a special confidentiality regime.' 'Who within or for Hotels Combined should be permitted to inspect confidential documents discovered by Skyscanner.' "Whether Skyscanner should pay Hotels Combined's costs of the review motion, or whether costs should be dealt with as costs in the proceedings."]

Ratio Decidendi

All categories of documents to be discovered required a confidentiality regime because, in the context of trade rivals, category (b) information combined with category (a) could reveal commercially sensitive referral fee information, category (c) contractual arrangements were accepted to be commercially sensitive, and categories (d) and (e) could reveal usage patterns and business insights prejudicial to Skyscanner. Category (a) alone could be inspected by Mr Sunny Gupta upon a confidentiality undertaking because it would not itself reveal the prejudicial referral fee information and would assist Hotels Combined to instruct its lawyers and expert. The review motion was a discrete issue...

Court Disposition

Confidentiality regime ordered for all categories of documents discovered; Skyscanner ordered to pay two-thirds of Hotels Combined's costs of the motion.

Orders

  • ['On or before 26 April 2016, Hotels Combined shall file and serve its lay evidence on the Cross-Claim, including all non-expert evidence necessary to provide the foundation of its damages claim on the Cross-Claim.' "On or before 24 May 2016, Skyscanner shall provide discovery of the documents referred to in...