Windgap Foundation Ltd v Solomons [2018] NSWSC 809

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Windgap Foundation Ltd v Solomons [2018] NSWSC 809 Hearing dates: 27 April 2018 Decision date: 31 May 2018 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Robb J Decision: See paragraph 82. Catchwords: COSTS — Party/Party — Costs orders in interlocutory proceedings — Plaintiff sought to recover confidential information taken by the Defendant — Final orders uncontested — whether costs incurred by plaintiff were proportionate Legislation Cited: Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) Cases Cited: Re Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs; ex parte Lai Qin (1997) 186 CLR 622; [1997] HCA 6 Bates v Lloyd [2005] NSWSC 1253 Melbourne University Publishing Ltd v Williamson [2005] FCA 1910 Columbia Pictures Industries Inc v Robinson [1987] Ch 38 Category: Costs Parties: Windgap Foundation Limited (Plaintiff) Leanne Solomons (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: J S Tobin (Plaintiff)

Solicitors: Brown Wright Stein (Plaintiff) Haywoods Solicitor (Defendant) File Number(s): 2017/331472

Judgment 1. The question in this matter, which was heard in the Applications List on 27 April 2018, concerns the costs order that should be made in proceedings in which final orders have been made in favour of the plaintiff, without any contest by the defendant.

Background 1. The plaintiff is Windgap Foundation Ltd (Windgap) and the defendant is Ms Leanne Solomons. Windgap is a charitable organisation that provides services to people with an intellectual disability in New South Wales. Ms Solomons worked for Windgap from April 2010 to 17 January 2017. On 17 January 2017, Ms Solomons was made redundant and at that time she signed a deed of release with Windgap that had the effect of terminating her employment (termination deed). 2. Windgap learned on 9 October 2017 that before the termination of her employment, Ms Solomons stole Windgap operational documents and a database with all the information about all of Windgap's clients, in breach of various terms of Ms Solomons' contract of employment. 3. In addition to those terms, Ms Solomons had covenanted by clause 8 of the termination deed not to disclose Windgap's confidential information without Windgap's prior consent. Ms Solomons also promised to return all of Windgap's confidential information then in her possession to Windgap.