Sportsbet Pty Ltd v State of New South Wales (No 9) [2010] FCA 31

Sportsbet Pty Ltd v State of New South Wales (No 9) [2010] FCA 31

Notices to produce must not be used as a substitute for discovery and may be set aside where they do not meet the requisite threshold of apparent relevance or are speculative fishing expeditions rather than targeted requests for relevant evidence.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
28 January 2010
Procedural Posture
Practice and Procedure / Interlocutory Application—challenge to Notices to Produce
Outcome
Notice to produce set aside in part; costs awarded to applicant
Legal Topics
['notices to Produce' 'discovery Versus Notices to Produce' 'apparent Relevance Standard']
['civil Procedure'] ['notices to Produce' 'discovery Versus Notices to Produce' 'apparent Relevance Standard']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Practice and Procedure / Interlocutory Application—challenge to Notices to Produce

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the notices to produce are a substitute for discovery' "Whether the documents sought are 'reasonably likely' to add to the relevant evidence in the case" 'Whether the notices to produce are speculative or amount to a fishing expedition']

Ratio Decidendi

Notices to produce must not be used as a substitute for discovery and may be set aside where they do not meet the requisite threshold of apparent relevance or are speculative fishing expeditions rather than targeted requests for relevant evidence.

Court Disposition

Notice to produce set aside in part; costs awarded to applicant

Orders

  • ['The notice to produce of 24 December 2009, dealing with funding of legal expenses, is set aside.' 'The notice to produce of 24 December 2009, dealing with the press, is set aside.' 'The notice to produce of 6 January 2010 (misdated 6 December 2010), dealing with web pages, is set aside.' 'The notice to produce of...