Beckett v The State of New South Wales (No. 2) [2012] NSWSC 444

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Beckett v The State of New South Wales (No. 2) [2012] NSWSC 444 Hearing dates: 23 February 2012 Decision date: 15 May 2012 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Davies J Decision: (1) I dismiss the Notice of Motion by the Applicant TCN Channel Nine Pty Limited filed 6 October 2011. (2) I dismiss the Amended Notice of Motion of the Plaintiff filed 12 September 2011. (3) The documents produced in answer to paragraph 1 of the Subpoena issued by the Defendant on 5 August 2011 are to be placed in an envelope and marked "Confidential". (4) The documents in the envelope marked "Confidential" are not to be disclosed to any person without the leave of a judge of the Court other than the parties' legal representatives. (5) The legal representatives of the parties shall: (a) only use the contents of the envelope marked "Confidential" for the sole purpose, and only to the extent necessary, for these proceedings, (b) not disclose the contents of the envelope marked "Confidential" to any person or entity without the leave of a Judge of the Court. (6) The Applicant and the Plaintiff are to pay the Defendant's costs of the Motions. Catchwords: PROCEDURE - subpoenas - application to set aside - whether legitimate forensic purpose - whether it was "on the cards" that the documents would assist the case of the party issuing the subpoena - proceedings for malicious prosecution and false imprisonment - prior proceedings for defamation against third party - settlement of defamation proceedings - whether settlement documents should be produced - confidentiality issues attending settlement documents - subpoena not set aside Legislation Cited: Defamation Act 1974 Cases Cited: Alister v R [1983] HCA 45; (1984) 154 CLR 404 Associated Newspapers Ltd v Dingle [1964] AC 341 Attorney General for New South Wales v Dylan Chidgey [2008] NSWCCA 65 Beckett v The State of New South Wales (No. 1) [2011] NSWSC 818 Carson v John Fairfax & Sons Ltd (1993) 178 CLR 44 Chappell v Mirror Newspapers Ltd [1984] Aust Torts Reports 80-691 Houda v The State of New South Wales [2005] NSWSC 1053 Category: Interlocutory applications Parties: Roseanne Beckett (Plaintiff) The State of New South Wales (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: P Blackett SC (Plaintiff) M Gollan (Defendant) M Richardson (Channel 9) Solicitors: Turner Freeman (Plaintiff) Crown Solicitor's Office (Defendant) Johnson Winter & Slattery (Channel 9) File Number(s): 2008/289411