Bayley & Associates Pty Ltd v DBR Australia Pty Ltd [2014] FCA 111

Procedural Posture

Federal Court Proceeding Concerning Liability for Breach of Contract, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Breach of Equitable Duty of Confidence and Copyright Infringement / Determination on the Papers of Final Declarations and Orders as to Liability Following the Principal Judgment, With Damages and Compensation to Be Assessed by Inquiry

Legal Issues

1. 1 ['Whether qualifications should be added to equitable compensation declarations to avoid duplication with contractual damages.' "Whether the damages inquiry for DBR Australia Pty Ltd's breach of the Auspicing Agreement should be confined to breaches concerning Stuart Jenkins." 'Whether the Court should declare at this stage that the applicant is entitled to additional damages under s 115(4) of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).' 'Whether delivery up of documents should be ordered before the whole proceeding is determined.' 'Whether declarations should be made that the respondents breached their contracts with the applicant.' 'Whether the applicant should receive indemnity costs from 30 May 2012 based on rejection of its settlement offer.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Court made final liability declarations and orders substantially based on the applicant's draft but limited and amended them to reflect the principal judgment: equitable compensation was not qualified for possible duplication because that issue could be addressed at the inquiry stage; the Auspicing Agreement damages inquiry was confined to the Stuart Jenkins breach; additional copyright damages under s 115(4) were left for inquiry; delivery up and destruction orders were appropriate; contractual breach declarations were refused; ordinary costs and forthwith taxation were ordered, but indemnity costs were refused because the settlement offer did not sufficiently match the liability...

Court Disposition

Final declarations and orders as to liability were made; inquiries into damages and equitable compensation were ordered; delivery up, destruction, affidavit and schedule orders were made; ordinary costs were ordered against the second and fourth respondents; indemnity costs were refused; the matter was listed for...

Orders

• ['There be an inquiry as to damages payable by the fourth respondent for breaches of clauses 3, 21 and 22 of the Australian Workplace Agreement and breaches of the duty of fidelity, with payment of the amount ascertained and interest under s 51A of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth).' 'The fourth...