Media Ocean Ltd v Optus Mobile Pty Ltd (No 10)

Media Ocean Ltd (appellant) and Optus Mobile Pty Ltd (respondent) were in dispute over the disclosure of certain documents to the Federal Court. The central issue before the court was whether certain communications were privileged and if so, whether that privilege had been waived. The court needed to determine if the communications were covered by legal professional privilege and whether any waiver of that privilege had occurred.

The court considered the nature of the communications and whether they were part of the legal advice process. It was noted that the onus of proving waiver of privilege lies with the party claiming it. However, the court found that Optus had not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the privilege had been waived. The court held that while some documents were privileged, the privilege had not been waived. Consequently, the court ruled that the privileged documents should be made available for inspection to the respondent.

The court ordered that certain specified documents be made available to the respondent for inspection. These included specific email communications between various parties. The court reserved the question of costs. This decision underscores the importance of clear evidence when claiming waiver of legal professional privilege, and highlights the court's role in protecting privileged communications unless there is a demonstrated waiver.