Monash IVF Pty Ltd v Dr Lynn Burmeister

In the case of Monash IVF Pty Ltd v Dr Lynn Burmeister, Monash IVF sought to enforce a restraint of trade covenant against Dr Burmeister, who had left the company to start a competing business. Dr Burmeister, in turn, had commenced proceedings in Victoria seeking a declaration that the restraint of trade was invalid. Monash IVF then issued summons in the Federal Court of Australia to enforce the restraint of trade, and Dr Burmeister responded by seeking a bare negative declaration. The court was required to determine whether to make any directions for the case, including whether to stay or transfer the proceedings to another court, and whether to set the matter down for a final hearing.

The court considered the appropriate course of action, noting that the proceedings had already been initiated in Victoria and that Dr Burmeister had not applied for a stay or transfer nor foreshadowed doing so. The court noted that there was no application for a stay or transfer and that no reason had been provided for why the matter should not proceed in the Federal Court. The court also considered the potential inconvenience to the parties of having to litigate the matter in two different jurisdictions. Ultimately, the court found that it was appropriate to make directions for the case and to set the matter down for a final hearing in the Federal Court.

The court rejected Dr Burmeister's application for no directions to be made and fixed the matter for a final hearing. The court noted that it was in the interests of justice to have the matter resolved in one forum and that there was no reason to believe that the Federal Court was not the appropriate forum for the proceedings. The court also noted that the parties had had an opportunity to litigate the issue of jurisdiction in the Victorian proceedings and that it was not appropriate for them to do so again in the Federal Court. The final orders of the court were that the matter be set down for a final hearing in the Federal Court and that no stay or transfer of the proceedings be granted.