Argus Administration Pty Ltd v Caldwell

[2018] QSC 281

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Argus Administration Pty Ltd & Ors v Caldwell & Anor [2018] QSC 281

PARTIES:

Argus Administration Pty Ltd – 614702528

(First Plaintiff)
and

Argus Accounting Pty Ltd – 612896358

(Second Plaintiff)

and
Argus Private Pty Ltd – 159585190

(Third Plaintiff)

v
Ivan Caldwell

(First Defendant)
and
Yvonne Grogan

(Second Defendant)

FILE NO/S:

SC No 317 of 2018

DIVISION:

Trial

PROCEEDING:

Application

ORIGINATING COURT:

Supreme Court at Cairns

DELIVERED ON:

30 November 2018

DELIVERED AT:

Cairns

HEARING DATE:

7 September 2018

JUDGE:

Henry J

ORDERS:

1.   In respect of the plaintiffs’ application for an injunction:

(a)     application dismissed;

(b)     the plaintiffs will pay the defendants’ costs of the application to be assessed on the standard basis if not agreed.

2.   In respect of the defendants’ application for summary judgment and strike-out:

(a)   judgment for the defendants as against the second and third plaintiffs;

(b)   paragraphs 24 to 27 inclusive of the amended statement of claim are struck out, excluding sub-paragraphs 24(a) and 24(b);

(c)    the costs of the application are reserved pending the determination of the summary judgment application as against the first plaintiff;

(d)   if the first plaintiff seeks to continue its claim it will file and serve a further amended statement of claim by no later than 4 pm 19 January 2019, which further amended statement of claim is to resolve the pleading deficiencies identified in these reasons and reflect the removal of the second and third plaintiffs as plaintiffs;

(e)   the defendants will give notice to the first plaintiff by no later than 4 pm 28 January 2019 as to whether it seeks to continue its application for summary judgment as against the first plaintiff;

(f)     the matter is listed for review at 9.15 am 30 January 2019 at which time, if the application for summary judgment is to continue, directions will be made as to the future carriage of the application, and if it is not to continue, the parties will be heard as to the costs of the application.

CATCHWORDS:

CONTRACTS – GENERAL CONTRACTUAL PRINCIPLES – CONSTRUCTION AND INTERPRETATION OF CONTRACTS – OTHER

MATTERS – Where employment contracts contained confidentiality clauses – proper construction of confidentiality covenants in employment contract – whether confidentiality clauses were valid – whether former employees breached confidentiality clauses – whether the second and third plaintiffs’ claims cannot succeed because the contracts allegedly breached were contracts to which they were not privy.

EMPLOYMENT – EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE – CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT – TRADE AND COMMERCE – OTHER REGULATION OF TRADE OR COMMERCE – RESTRAINTS OF TRADE – VALIDITY AND REASONABLENESS – proper construction of restraint of trade covenants in employment contract – whether restraints were valid and reasonable – whether former employees breached restraints – whether the second and third plaintiffs’ claims cannot succeed because the restraints allegedly breached were in contracts to which they were not privy.

PROCEDURE – SUPREME COURT PROCEDURE – QUEENSLAND – PROCEDURE UNDER UNIFORM CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES AND PREDECESSORS – PLEADING –…