McLachlan v Browne & Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd; McLachlan v Browne & Australian Broadcasting Corporation (No 5) [2018] NSWSC 1976

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: McLachlan v Browne & Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd; McLachlan v Browne & Australian Broadcasting Corporation (No 5) [2018] NSWSC 1976 Decision date: 17 December 2018 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: McCallum J Decision: Publication of reasons for refusing non-party access to court file Catchwords: MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS – applications by media for access to pleadings prior to conclusion of proceedings – whether there are exceptional circumstances warranting departure from Supreme Court's usual practice Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Regulation 2017 (NSW) Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth), r 2.32(2)(c) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), r 36.12 Cases Cited: ASIC v Rich [2002] NSWSC 198 eisa Limited v Damien Brady [2000] NSWSC 929 HIH Insurance Ltd (in liq) v General Re Insurance Australia Ltd [2006] NSWSC 128 Llewellyn v Nine Network Australia Pty Ltd (2006) 233 ALR 88; [2006] FCA 836 Tuqiri v Australian Rugby Union Ltd [2009] NSWSC 781 Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Proceedings 2018/34244: Craig McLachlan (plaintiff) Christie Whelan-Browne (first defendant) Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (second defendant)

Proceedings 2018/34257: Craig McLachlan (plaintiff) Christie Whelan-Browne (first defendant) Australian Broadcasting Corporation (second defendant) Representation: Counsel: M Richardson (plaintiff) L Barnett (first and second defendants in both proceedings)