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Knorr v CSIRO & Ors

Knorr v CSIRO & Ors

Case [2012] VSC 83 9 March 2012

Jurisdiction

Failure to Plead

Particulars in Pleadings

Pleadings

Delay in Proceedings

Civil Litigation & Procedure

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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

Not Restricted

AT MELBOURNE

COMMON LAW DIVISION

S CI 2011 6715

ANDREW KARL KNORR

Plaintiff

COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION (CSIRO)

FOREST AND WOOD PRODUCTS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (FWPRDC)

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

BORAL TIMBER (BORAL LIMITED) (ACN 008 421 761)
and ALLEN TAYLOR & COMPANY LIMITED
(ACN 000 003 056)

UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA ARBN 055 647 848 (UTAS)

MALLESONS STEPHEN JAQUES (MALLESONS)

FOREST AND WOOD PRODUCTS AUSTRALIA LIMITED (ACN 127 114 185) (FWPA)

MBAC CONSULTING GROUP PTY LTD (ACN 126 232 746) (MBAC)

STATE OF VICTORIA (STATE)

First Defendant

Second Defendant

Third Defendant

Fourth Defendant

Fifth Defendant

Sixth Defendant

Seventh Defendant

Eighth Defendant

Ninth Defendant

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JUDGE:	BEACH J
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	9 March 2012
DATE OF JUDGMENT:	9 March 2012
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	Knorr v CSIRO & Ors
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2012] VSC 83

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PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Pleadings – Statement of Claim – Failure to plead material facts – Failure to properly particularise material facts – Pleading embarrassing – Pleading likely to delay the fair trial of the proceeding.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Plaintiff	In person
For the First Defendant	Mr J.P. Slattery	Clayton Utz
For the Second Defendant	No appearance
For the Third Defendant	Ms E. Strong SC with Mr I. Horak	Australian Government Solicitor
For the Fourth Defendant	Mr J.P. Moore	Ashurst Australia
For the Fifth Defendant	Mr R.H.M. Attiwill	Perry Maddocks Trollope
For the Sixth Defendant	Mr J.S. Mereine	King & Wood Mallesons
For the Seventh Defendant	Mr M. Attard	Monahan + Rowell
For the Eighth Defendant	Mr C. Forster	Moray & Agnew
For the Ninth Defendant	Dr M.J. Collins SC with Ms R.L. Enbom	Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office

HIS HONOUR:

The rules of pleading require every pleading to contain in a summary form a statement of all the material facts on which the party pleading relies, but not the evidence by which those facts are to be proved. Additionally, the rules require each allegation so far as practicable to be contained in a separate paragraph.

Pleadings should be as brief as is consistent with clarity. Whilst brevity is of secondary importance when compared with clarity and precision, in an extreme case, a pleading may be struck out for prolixity. As has been said repeatedly, the parties in any litigation are under a duty to cooperate with the Court by chronological, brief and consistent pleadings which define the issues and leave the judge to draw his or her own conclusions about the merits of the case. Neither parties nor courts have unlimited resources.

In the case of a statement of claim, pleading all the material facts means pleading all the facts necessary to constitute a complete cause of action. No more. No less.

Again, as has been repeatedly stated, the material facts relied on should be stated precisely and briefly. As a rule, they should be arranged in chronological order. Only the material facts should be stated, and…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Knorr v CSIRO & Ors

Details

AGLC: Knorr v CSIRO & Ors [2012] VSC 83
Case: [2012] VSC 83
Decision Date: 9 March 2012

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Federal Court of Australia, Knorr commenced proceedings against the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and others, asserting claims arising from alleged breaches of confidentiality and misuse of information. The dispute centred on the improper disclosure of sensitive information, which the plaintiff claimed led to significant harm. The defendants contested the allegations, arguing that the plaintiff's claims were either unfounded or inadequately supported by evidence.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the plaintiff's statement of claim sufficiently pleaded the material facts and whether it provided adequate particulars to support the allegations. The court had to determine if the pleadings were embarrassing, as defined by the relevant procedural rules, and if they were likely to delay the fair trial of the proceeding. The defendants contended that the statement of claim failed to adequately disclose the nature of the confidential information, the circumstances of its disclosure, and the resultant harm, which were crucial elements of the plaintiff's case.

The court examined the statement of claim and found that it did not adequately particularise the material facts necessary to support the allegations of breach of confidentiality and misuse of information. The plaintiff's broad and vague assertions were deemed insufficient to meet the legal standards for pleading. The court held that the failure to provide specific details about the confidential information and the context of its disclosure rendered the pleadings embarrassing and likely to impede a fair trial. Consequently, the court ruled that the statement of claim failed to comply with the requirements of the procedural rules and dismissed the proceeding for failure to properly plead the material facts.

Orders