Australian Competition & Consumer Commission v J McPhee & Son (Australia) Pty Ltd & Ors [1997] FCA 1558

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission v J McPhee & Son (Australia) Pty Ltd & Ors [1997] FCA 1558

The document was brought into existence for the sole purpose of obtaining legal advice as to the legal consequences of the meeting of 16 May 1995 and was therefore protected by legal professional privilege. Production was not necessary at the present time under O 15 r 15 of the Federal Court Rules, and non-production would not prevent the first respondent from having a fair trial because it had full details of the case against it by pleadings and witness statements.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
17 December 1997
Procedural Posture
Application Concerning Third Party Discovery and Legal Professional Privilege / Reasons for Judgment on the First Respondent's Application Relating to Production of a Document Listed by the Third Party
Outcome
The first respondent's application was dismissed.
Legal Topics
['third Party Discovery' 'legal Professional Privilege' 'production of Documents' 'federal Court Rules O 15 R 15']
['civil Procedure' 'evidence'] ['third Party Discovery' 'legal Professional Privilege' 'production of Documents' 'federal Court Rules O 15 R 15']

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Procedural Posture

Application Concerning Third Party Discovery and Legal Professional Privilege / Reasons for Judgment on the First Respondent's Application Relating to Production of a Document Listed by the Third Party

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the document referred to in item 9 of Pt of Sch 1 to the third party's list was protected from production by legal professional privilege." 'Whether the discretion under O 15 r 15 of the Federal Court Rules should be exercised to require production of the document.']

Ratio Decidendi

The document was brought into existence for the sole purpose of obtaining legal advice as to the legal consequences of the meeting of 16 May 1995 and was therefore protected by legal professional privilege. Production was not necessary at the present time under O 15 r 15 of the Federal Court Rules, and non-production would not prevent the first respondent from having a fair trial because it had full details of the case against it by pleadings and witness statements.

Court Disposition

The first respondent's application was dismissed.

Orders

  • ['The application of the first respondent be dismissed.' "The first respondent pay DFE's costs of the application."]