Hughes v St Barbara Mines Ltd

This case concerns an application by the defendants, St Barbara Mines Ltd and Zygo Ltd, for an order for inspection of two letters written by the plaintiffs' solicitors to an expert witness. The plaintiffs, Bryan Kevin Hughes and Vincent Anthony Smith, are the trustees of the Kingstream Steel Creditors' Trust, for the benefit of pre-voluntary administration creditors of Kingstream Steel Ltd. The dispute revolves around an option deed between Kingstream and St Barbara Mines Ltd, which granted Kingstream an option to purchase certain mining tenements. The plaintiffs allege that the option deed does not provide for the inclusion of mining lease applications and seek rectification of the deed. They also claim that the defendants were negligent in withdrawing the applications and seek damages.

The legal issues before the court were whether the letters of instruction to the expert witness, Snowden Mining Industry Consultants Pty Ltd, were protected by legal professional privilege and whether there had been an implied waiver of privilege by the plaintiffs' disclosure of the expert's reports. The defendants argued that the disclosure of the expert's reports implied a waiver of privilege in respect of the letters of instruction, as they had likely influenced the content of the reports. The plaintiffs contended that there had been no waiver of privilege and that the letters did not influence the content of the reports.

The court examined the relevant principles of legal professional privilege and the circumstances in which privilege may be waived. The court concluded that the disclosure of the expert's reports implied a waiver of privilege in respect of the letters of instruction, as it was reasonable to infer that the letters had some influence on the content of the reports. The court ordered the plaintiffs to produce the letters for inspection by the defendants.

The final orders of the court will be determined after hearing the parties on the form of the order and on costs.