OLENGHI & SALAMBO

In the matter of *Olenghi & Salambo*, heard before Berman J, the dispute concerned an application for injunctive relief. The applicant, Mr Olenghi, sought to restrain the respondent, Ms Salambo, from continuing to provide instructions to Women’s Legal Service (SA) Inc. Concurrently, Ms Salambo sought to restrain Mr Olenghi from continuing to provide instructions to Adelaide Lawyers.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the conduct of each party in instructing their respective legal representatives constituted a breach of any legal duty owed to the other, and if so, whether injunctive relief was an appropriate remedy. The court was required to consider the nature of the relationship between the parties and the potential impact of their continued instructions to legal services on the resolution of their underlying dispute.

Berman J granted the injunctions sought by both parties. The reasoning appears to have been based on the court's assessment that the continued engagement of these specific legal services by each party was detrimental to the prospects of resolving the dispute amicably or efficiently. The court applied principles of equity and the court's inherent power to manage litigation and ensure the fair and orderly conduct of proceedings, concluding that restraining further instructions to these particular service providers was necessary to facilitate a resolution.

Consequently, the court ordered that Ms Salambo be restrained from providing further instructions to Women’s Legal Service (SA) Inc, and that Mr Olenghi be restrained from providing further instructions to Adelaide Lawyers.