Council of the City of Sydney v Goldspar Pty Ltd [2003] FCA 769

Council of the City of Sydney v Goldspar Pty Ltd [2003] FCA 769

The documents sought from Streetscapes concerning dissemination of the Council's 2 November 2001 letter were relevant to Goldspar's preparation of its misleading conduct damages case and sufficiently significant to justify third party discovery under O 15A r 8, provided inspection was restricted by confidentiality undertakings to reduce commercial prejudice because Goldspar and Streetscapes were competitors; Streetscapes was entitled to its costs of the motion and reasonable costs of giving discovery.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
26 June 2003
Procedural Posture
Application for Third Party Discovery Pursuant to O 15 a R 8 of the Federal Court Rules / Motion for Third Party Discovery
Outcome
Motion for third party discovery granted with confidentiality restrictions and costs in favour of Streetscapes.
Legal Topics
['third Party Discovery' 'costs of Third Party Discovery' 'confidentiality Undertakings' 'discovery Between Competitors']
['practice and Procedure' 'civil Procedure'] ['third Party Discovery' 'costs of Third Party Discovery' 'confidentiality Undertakings' 'discovery Between Competitors']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Application for Third Party Discovery Pursuant to O 15 a R 8 of the Federal Court Rules / Motion for Third Party Discovery

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether Streetscapes Projects (Australia) Pty Limited should be ordered to give third party discovery of documents recording, referring or relating to the provision of the Council's letter dated 2 November 2001 or communication of its contents to third parties." 'Whether restrictions should be imposed on inspection because Goldspar and Streetscapes were competitors.' 'Whether Streetscapes should recover the costs of appearing on the motion and of giving discovery.']

Ratio Decidendi

The documents sought from Streetscapes concerning dissemination of the Council's 2 November 2001 letter were relevant to Goldspar's preparation of its misleading conduct damages case and sufficiently significant to justify third party discovery under O 15A r 8, provided inspection was restricted by confidentiality undertakings to reduce commercial prejudice because Goldspar and Streetscapes were competitors; Streetscapes was entitled to its costs of the motion and reasonable costs of giving discovery.

Court Disposition

Motion for third party discovery granted with confidentiality restrictions and costs in favour of Streetscapes.

Orders

  • ['Streetscapes Projects (Australia) Pty Limited to give discovery of all documents recording, referring or relating to the supply or provision to third parties of any copy or copies of the letter dated 2 November 2001 from the Council of the City of Sydney to Streetscapes, and the communication to third parties of...