Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited (No 9) [2020] FCA 1850

Roberts-Smith v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited (No 9) [2020] FCA 1850

Where sensitive and clearly irrelevant information is included in documents subject to discovery, the Court may order targeted redactions following judicial review of unredacted documents, with the obligation to disclose any information that later becomes relevant.

Parties
Applicant: Ben Roberts-Smith; First Respondent: Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited; Second Respondent: Nick McKenzie; Third Respondent: Chris Masters; Fourth Respondent: David Wroe; First Respondent: The Age Company Pty Limited; First Respondent: The Federal Capital Press of Australia Pty Limited; Other Party: Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
23 December 2020
Procedural Posture
Defamation Proceedings / Interlocutory Application (discovery/production Order)
Outcome
Application granted in part; specific redactions permitted and balance of matters adjourned.
Legal Topics
Discovery, Redaction of Documents, Relevance of Evidence
Practice and Procedure Defamation Discovery Redaction of Documents Relevance of Evidence

Case Brief

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Parties

Ben Roberts-Smith

Applicant

Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited

First Respondent

Nick McKenzie

Second Respondent

Chris Masters

Third Respondent

David Wroe

Fourth Respondent

The Age Company Pty Limited

First Respondent

The Federal Capital Press of Australia Pty Limited

First Respondent

Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force

Other Party

Procedural Posture

Defamation Proceedings / Interlocutory Application (discovery/production Order)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Is a party entitled to redact information in documents produced upon discovery on the basis of irrelevance?
  2. 2 What procedure should be used to resolve relevance disputes over redactions?

Ratio Decidendi

Where sensitive and clearly irrelevant information is included in documents subject to discovery, the Court may order targeted redactions following judicial review of unredacted documents, with the obligation to disclose any information that later becomes relevant.

Court Disposition

Application granted in part; specific redactions permitted and balance of matters adjourned.

Orders

  • Applicant may produce affidavits with court-approved redactions to respondents.
  • Specific paragraphs in two affidavits need not be disclosed due to irrelevance and sensitivity (listed in orders 1(a) and 2(a)).