New Aim Pty Ltd v Leung [2023] FCAFC 67

New Aim Pty Ltd v Leung [2023] FCAFC 67

The primary judge erred by unduly confining the confidentiality analysis to distinctions in the storage location of information—between the WeChat application and the appellant's internal database—rather than focussing on the confidential nature of the supplier information itself and the plaintiff's investment in identifying and securing that information. As these errors permeated the assessment of breach of confidence, breach of contract, and Corporations Act s 183 claims, the relevant findings and orders could not stand, and the matter must be remitted for retrial. The primary judge also erred in rejecting the entirety of the expert evidence of Ms Chen on improper bases, including...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
10 May 2023
Procedural Posture
Appeal / Full Court Decision After an Appeal From the Federal Court of Australia
Outcome
Appeal allowed; primary orders partially set aside; matter remitted for retrial; costs of appeal awarded to appellant, with opportunity for parties to make further submissions.
Legal Topics
['confidential Information' 'breach of Confidence' 'expert Evidence' 'breach of Contract' 'corporations Act S 183' 'employment Law' 'preparation of Expert Reports']
['equity' 'evidence' 'commercial Law' 'corporations Law'] ['confidential Information' 'breach of Confidence' 'expert Evidence' 'breach of Contract' 'corporations Act S 183' 'employment Law' 'preparation of Expert Reports']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Appeal / Full Court Decision After an Appeal From the Federal Court of Australia

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the primary judge erred by treating supplier details in the WeChat application as distinct from information in the appellant's database" 'Whether the alleged confidential information was in fact confidential' 'Whether the primary judge erred in dismissing the claims for breach of confidence, breach of contract, and contravention of s 183 of the Corporations Act' 'Whether the primary judge erred in rejecting the entirety of the expert evidence of Ms Chen']

Ratio Decidendi

The primary judge erred by unduly confining the confidentiality analysis to distinctions in the storage location of information—between the WeChat application and the appellant's internal database—rather than focussing on the confidential nature of the supplier information itself and the plaintiff's investment in identifying and securing that information. As these errors permeated the assessment of breach of confidence, breach of contract, and Corporations Act s 183 claims, the relevant findings and orders could not stand, and the matter must be remitted for retrial. The primary judge also erred in rejecting the entirety of the expert evidence of Ms Chen on improper bases, including...

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; primary orders partially set aside; matter remitted for retrial; costs of appeal awarded to appellant, with opportunity for parties to make further submissions.

Orders

  • ['The appeal be allowed.' "Paragraph 1 of the orders made by the primary judge on 23 June 2022, insofar as it relates to the applicant's claims against the first, fourth and fifth respondents at first instance, be set aside." 'Paragraph 2 of the orders made by the primary judge on 15 July 2022 (which relates to...