Colagrande v Telstra Corporation Limited

In the matter of Colagrande v Telstra Corporation Limited, the plaintiff, Dr Cesidio Colagrande, a plastic surgeon, sought an order for preliminary discovery from the defendant, Telstra Corporation Limited, an internet service provider, to ascertain the identity of an anonymous reviewer who posted a potentially defamatory review on a medical review website. Dr Colagrande was unable to identify the reviewer, but knew that the review had been posted using an internet protocol address associated with Telstra. The Federal Court was required to determine whether the plaintiff could satisfy the requirements of r 7.22 of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) to make an order for preliminary discovery. In particular, the Court had to consider whether the plaintiff had a real prospect of succeeding in a potential defamation claim and whether the plaintiff had satisfied the other requirements of r 7.22.

The Court found that Dr Colagrande had satisfied all the requirements of r 7.22. The Court concluded that the plaintiff had established that there may be a right to obtain relief against the reviewer, and that the plaintiff was unable to ascertain the reviewer’s description. The Court further found that Telstra, as the internet service provider associated with the IP address, was likely to have documents in its possession that would help ascertain the reviewer’s description. The Court ordered Telstra to provide discovery of all documents that are or have been in its control relating to the description of the person or persons associated with the IP address.

The Court made orders for discovery of all documents that are or have been in Telstra’s control relating to the description of the person or persons associated with the IP address on 12 December 2018. The Court specified that the discovery must include documents that establish, evidence, or assist in establishing or evidencing the account through which the internet was accessed, the holder or owner of the account, the identity of the person that accessed the internet, and the location of the computer, modem, or internet connection through which the internet was accessed.