Hancock v Rinehart [2022] NSWSC 1025

Hancock v Rinehart [2022] NSWSC 1025

The Suppression Order was made to protect confidential arbitral information and, properly construed, required the confidential affidavit, exhibit and submissions to be kept confidential, including against disclosure of their substance. The specified parts of the 5 August 2020 transcript stated or summarised allegations, issues, contentions or possible outcomes in the Arbitration and therefore were either within the existing Suppression Order or disclosed confidential information under s 27E of the Commercial Arbitration Act 2012 (WA), making a suppression order necessary. However, the order should identify the relevant transcript passages with particularity. Indemnity costs were refused...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
29 July 2022
Procedural Posture
Application for Suppression and Non Publication Orders / Principal Judgment on Amended Notice of Motion and Cross Summons
Outcome
The Court held that a suppression order was necessary, proposed replacing the earlier Suppression Order with a new order identifying specified transcript passages, refused indemnity costs, and directed the parties to bring in short minutes of order.
Legal Topics
['suppression and Non Publication Orders' 'open Justice' 'confidential Arbitral Information' 'construction of Court Orders' 'costs']
['civil Procedure' 'equity' 'commercial Arbitration'] ['suppression and Non Publication Orders' 'open Justice' 'confidential Arbitral Information' 'construction of Court Orders' 'costs']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Application for Suppression and Non Publication Orders / Principal Judgment on Amended Notice of Motion and Cross Summons

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the suppression order made by Ward CJ in Eq on 29 May 2020 applied to references to confidential material made at the hearing on 5 August 2020, including as recorded in the transcript.' 'Whether a further suppression order should be made under the Court Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010 (NSW) in respect of specified parts of the 5 August 2020 transcript.' 'Whether costs should be awarded on an indemnity basis.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Suppression Order was made to protect confidential arbitral information and, properly construed, required the confidential affidavit, exhibit and submissions to be kept confidential, including against disclosure of their substance. The specified parts of the 5 August 2020 transcript stated or summarised allegations, issues, contentions or possible outcomes in the Arbitration and therefore were either within the existing Suppression Order or disclosed confidential information under s 27E of the Commercial Arbitration Act 2012 (WA), making a suppression order necessary. However, the order should identify the relevant transcript passages with particularity. Indemnity costs were refused...

Court Disposition

The Court held that a suppression order was necessary, proposed replacing the earlier Suppression Order with a new order identifying specified transcript passages, refused indemnity costs, and directed the parties to bring in short minutes of order.

Orders

  • ['Direct the parties to bring in short minutes of order to give effect to these reasons.' 'List the proceedings before me on Tuesday 2 August 2022 at 9:00am for the making of final orders.' 'Liberty to apply.']