Airways Corporation of NZ Ltd v Pricewaterhouse Coopers Legal

In this case, Airways Corporation of New Zealand Limited (Airways) sought an order for preliminary discovery against PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal (PwC) in relation to a legal services agreement. The dispute arose when Airways alleged that PwC had breached confidentiality obligations by publishing privileged material on the internet. The matter was heard by the Federal Court of Australia. The court was required to determine the legal issues surrounding the definition of "publication" and the circumstances under which preliminary discovery could be ordered.

The Federal Court examined the concept of publication and its relevance to privileged material. The court noted that publication occurs when the information is communicated to a third party, even if it is initially intended for internal use. In this instance, PwC had inadvertently published privileged material online, accessible to the public, which constituted a publication. The court further considered the principles governing preliminary discovery, which allow a party to seek discovery of documents to establish their existence, relevance, and admissibility before the formal discovery process. The court held that preliminary discovery was appropriate in this case to ascertain whether PwC had indeed published privileged information and to determine the scope of the publication.

Having concluded that PwC had indeed published privileged material and that preliminary discovery was warranted, the court granted Airways' application for preliminary discovery. The court ordered PwC to provide Airways with specific documents related to the publication of privileged information. The court's decision underscores the importance of confidentiality in legal services and the potential consequences of breaching such obligations.