NATIONAL ROADS AND MOTORISTS' ASSOCIATION LTD v GEESON & 3 ORS [2001] NSWSC 832

Reported Decision : (2001) 39 ACSR 401 (2002) 20 ACLC 111

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : NATIONAL ROADS AND MOTORISTS' ASSOCIATION LTD v GEESON & 3 ORS [2001] NSWSC 832 CURRENT JURISDICTION: EQUITY FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 4601/2001 HEARING DATE(S) : 18 & 19/09/2001 JUDGMENT DATE : 21 September 2001

National Roads and Motorists' Association Limited - Plaintiff Stewart Geeson - First Defendant PARTIES : Anne Keating - Second Defendant Jane Singleton - Third Defendant John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd - Fourth Defendant JUDGMENT OF : Bryson J at 1

R. McColl S.C. & T. Blackburn for Plaintiff COUNSEL : G. Lucarelli -First Defendant A. Keating - Second Defendant in Person G. Reynolds S.C., R. Lancaster & J. Hmelnitsky - Fourth Defendant SOLICITORS : Corrs Chambers Westgarth - Plaintiff CATCHWORDS : CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION - directors' meeting - NRMA sought interlocutory injunction to restrain communication by 3 directors and publication by SMH of events at board meeting of 17/9/01 - examination of facts relating to reasonable apprehension of publication - SMH had some source of information, not shown to be any of the director defendants - declining to give undertaking not to communicate events was not in the circumstances evidence of a threat to communicate it - one director stated at meeting and gave evidence that she was considering and might decide to communicate events at part of meeting when occupation of the Chair was discussed - Directors' Code of Conduct entitled directors to communicate information on deciding to do so on stated principles - there was no reasonable apprehension of communication of information about other subjects or of publication by SMH - the Court declined to make an injunction which would prevent that director from taking a course which this Code of Conduct permited her to take - interlocutory injunction refused. LEGISLATION CITED : Corporations Act Attorney General v. Guardian Newspapers (No. 2) [1990] 1 AC 109 AG (UK) v. Heinemann Publishers Pty Ltd (1987) 10 NSWLR 86 Mooregate Tobacco Co. Ltd v. Philip Morris Ltd (No. 2) (1984) 156 CLR 414 CASES CITED : AG v. Guardian Newspapers at (1990) 1 AC 256 Commonwealth of Australia v. John Fairfax & Sons Limited & Ors (1980) 147 CLR 39 Coco v. A.M. Clark (Engineers) Limited [1969] RPC 41 Smith Kline & French Laboratories (Aust) Limited & Ors v. Secretary, Department of Community Services & Health [1990] 22 FCR 73 O'Brien v. Komesaroff (1982) 150 CLR 310 DECISION : Interlocutory injunction refused.