Nandutu v The University of Sydney (No 3)

The parties involved in this case were Nandutu and The University of Sydney, with the dispute centering on the issuance of subpoenas and their subsequent setting aside. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The university had issued subpoenas to Nandutu seeking documents and information, which Nandutu contested. Nandutu argued that the documents sought were not in his custody, care, or control, and that the subpoenas were invalid as they sought information rather than documents.

The legal issues before the court were whether the subpoenas were properly issued and whether they could be set aside due to the grounds raised by Nandutu. The court had to determine whether the documents sought by the subpoenas were indeed not in Nandutu’s possession and whether the subpoenas were seeking information rather than documents. Furthermore, the court needed to consider whether the grounds provided by Nandutu were sufficient to warrant the setting aside of the subpoenas.

In its reasoning, the court found that the subpoenas were indeed flawed as they sought information rather than documents and because the documents sought were not in Nandutu's possession. The court held that the subpoenas did not comply with the relevant rules and were therefore invalid. Consequently, the court set aside the subpoenas and ordered that costs be awarded against the university. The court determined that the university's failure to properly issue the subpoenas warranted the award of costs to Nandutu.