Iseek Communications Pty Ltd v Jones [2017] NSWSC 251

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Iseek Communications Pty Ltd v Jones [2017] NSWSC 251 Hearing dates: 9, 10 March 2017 Date of orders: 17 March 2017 Decision date: 17 March 2017 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Emmett AJA Decision: Undertakings accepted by the Court; plaintiff's claim for interlocutory relief otherwise dismissed; plaintiff ordered to pay the defendants' costs of the application for interlocutory relief made in the Amended Summons. Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – interlocutory injunction against former employee – restraint of trade – confidential information – whether serious question to be tried – whether restraint of trade applied to competing with close business partner of former employer – relevance of undertakings accepted by the Court – balance of convenience Cases Cited: Castlemaine Tooheys Limited v South Australia 161 CLR 148 Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Iseek Communications Pty Ltd (Plaintiff) Timothy Jones (First Defendant) Anticlockwise Pty Ltd (Second Defendant) Representation: Counsel: M Seck (Plaintiff) HPT Bevan (First Defendant) P W Larkin SC with J E Taylor (Second Defendant)

Solicitors: Thomson Geer (Plaintiff) John F Morrissey & Company Lawyers (First Defendant) Woolf Associates (Second Defendant) File Number(s): 2016/382293

Judgment 1. The plaintiff, Iseek Communications Pty Ltd (Iseek), seeks interlocutory orders against Mr Timothy Jones and Anticlockwise Pty Ltd (Anticlockwise). Iseek claims that Mr Jones has acted and threatens to act in breach of a contract of employment made between Mr Jones and Iseek on 31 March 2014 (the Employment Contract) and that Mr Jones and Clockwise have acted and threaten to act in breach of an agreement made on 1 November 2016 whereby Iseek consented to Mr Jones being employed by Anticlockwise (the Tri-parte Contract).