Vickers v Commonwealth of Australia [2020] NSWSC 1762

Vickers v Commonwealth of Australia [2020] NSWSC 1762

Special circumstances were established by the pressing need for asset preservation orders in related proceedings, and the documents’ relevance to the allegations justified amending the Harman undertaking to allow their use in the 2014 proceedings. The nature and context of the documents, their anticipated public use, and their contribution to justice outweighed any privacy concerns.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
08 December 2020
Procedural Posture
Equity / Application for Leave to Use Documents Obtained Under Compulsion in Other Proceedings
Outcome
Leave granted in part; application in respect of some documents adjourned; Harman undertaking amended for specified documents; costs to plaintiff in the cause.
Legal Topics
['implied Undertaking' 'application for Leave to Use Documents' 'release From Harman Undertaking' 'asset Preservation Orders']
['civil Procedure'] ['implied Undertaking' 'application for Leave to Use Documents' 'release From Harman Undertaking' 'asset Preservation Orders']

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Procedural Posture

Equity / Application for Leave to Use Documents Obtained Under Compulsion in Other Proceedings

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether leave should be granted to release the plaintiff from the implied Harman undertaking to use documents obtained under compulsion for purposes of other proceedings, specifically to support an application for asset preservation orders']

Ratio Decidendi

Special circumstances were established by the pressing need for asset preservation orders in related proceedings, and the documents’ relevance to the allegations justified amending the Harman undertaking to allow their use in the 2014 proceedings. The nature and context of the documents, their anticipated public use, and their contribution to justice outweighed any privacy concerns.

Court Disposition

Leave granted in part; application in respect of some documents adjourned; Harman undertaking amended for specified documents; costs to plaintiff in the cause.

Orders

  • ['Motion dated 4 December 2020 filed on undertaking to pay filing fee.' "Plaintiff's motion adjourned to applications list on 2 February 2021 in respect to certain documents produced pursuant to order 3." 'Undertaking by plaintiff amended to permit use of documents produced pursuant to notice to produce dated 2...