Schutz DSL (Australia) Pty Ltd v VIP Plastic Packaging Pty Ltd (No 8) [2010] FCA 1108

Schutz DSL (Australia) Pty Ltd v VIP Plastic Packaging Pty Ltd (No 8) [2010] FCA 1108

Non-party discovery is not presently necessary or desirable because the applicant has not shown the existence of relevant internal working documents, has relied upon the displaced 'train of inquiry' test rather than the modern relevance test, and parties have substantially agreed upon inter-partes discovery categories which cover much of the sought material. The applicant has not demonstrated a clear reason to favour non-party discovery over subpoenas or shown that the non-parties alone possess relevant documents unprovided through inter-partes discovery.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
13 October 2010
Procedural Posture
Application for Non Party Discovery / Interlocutory
Outcome
application for non-party discovery dismissed
Legal Topics
['non Party Discovery' 'relevance in Discovery' "'train of Inquiry' Test" 'discovery Exhaustion' 'subpoena Versus Discovery']
['practice and Procedure'] ['non Party Discovery' 'relevance in Discovery' "'train of Inquiry' Test" 'discovery Exhaustion' 'subpoena Versus Discovery']

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Procedural Posture

Application for Non Party Discovery / Interlocutory

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether non-party discovery should be ordered where inter-partes discovery may suffice' "Whether the 'train of inquiry' test applies to non-party discovery" 'Whether Schutz has exhausted discovery against VIP before seeking non-party discovery' 'Whether Schutz established the existence and relevance of internal working documents held by non-parties']

Ratio Decidendi

Non-party discovery is not presently necessary or desirable because the applicant has not shown the existence of relevant internal working documents, has relied upon the displaced 'train of inquiry' test rather than the modern relevance test, and parties have substantially agreed upon inter-partes discovery categories which cover much of the sought material. The applicant has not demonstrated a clear reason to favour non-party discovery over subpoenas or shown that the non-parties alone possess relevant documents unprovided through inter-partes discovery.

Court Disposition

application for non-party discovery dismissed

Orders

  • ['The application for non-party discovery is dismissed.' "The applicants/cross-respondents to pay the respondents/cross-claimants' costs of the motions to be taxed if not agreed."]