Gough & Gilmour Holdings Pty Ltd and ors v Caterpillar of Australia Limited [2001] NSWIRComm 73

Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales in Court Session

CITATION : Gough & Gilmour Holdings Pty Ltd and ors v Caterpillar of Australia Limited [2001] NSWIRComm 73 FIRST APPLICANT Gough & Gilmour Holdings Pty Ltd

SECOND APPLICANT Harcourt David Gough PARTIES : THIRD APPLICANT Anthony Lansley Gilmour

RESPONDENT Caterpillar of Australia Limited FILE NUMBER: IRC 5227 of 2000 CORAM: Boland J CATCHWORDS : Discovery and inspection of documents - Legal professional privilege - Imputed waiver - Proceedings under s 106 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 - Respondent sought discovery of documents evidencing legal advice - Applicants claimed legal professional privilege - Whether applicants had made allegations raising issue of their state of mind to which legal advice may have contributed - Commission in Court Session's powers in relation to legal professional privilege - Whether Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) or common law applicable - Importance of legal professional privilege - Imputed waiver of legal professional privilege - Issue waiver - Whether fair to respondent and conducive of ascertaining the truth to allow applicants to maintain legal professional privilege over legal advice that may have contributed to their state of mind in relying on certain representations by respondent - Imputed that by operation of law applicants had waived legal professional privilege. Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) LEGISLATION CITED : Industrial Relations Act 1996 Industrial Relations Commission Rules 1996 Supreme Court Rules 1970 Adelaide Steamship Co Ltd v Spalvins (1998) 152 ALR 418 Ampolex Ltd v Perpetual Trustee Co (Canberra) Ltd (1996) 137 ALR 28 Ampolex Ltd v Perpetual Trustee Co (Canberra) Ltd (1998) 37 NSWLR 405 Attorney-General (NT) v Maurice (1986) 161 CLR 475 Benecke v National Australia Bank (1993) 35 NSWLR 110 Equuscorp Pty Ltd v Kamisha Corp Ltd [1999] FCA 681 Esso Australia Resources Ltd v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1998) 159 ALR 664 CASES CITED : Esso Australia Resources Ltd v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1999) 168 ALR 123 Goldberg v Ng (1995) 185 CLR 83 Mann v Carnell (1999) 168 ALR 86 Perpetual Trustees (WA) Ltd v Equuscorp Pty Ltd [1999] FCA 925 Pickering v Edmunds (1994) 63 SASR 357 Randell v Rockliffe [1999] TASSC 136 Telstra Corporation Ltd v BT Australasia Pty Ltd (1998) 85 FCR 152 Wardrope v Dunne [1996] 1 Qd R 224 HEARING DATES: 04/03/2001 DATE OF JUDGMENT: 04/09/2001