Sacca v El Saafin

In the Federal Court, the applicant, Mr El Saafin, sought an order to restrain Mr El-Hissi, a solicitor, from acting against him in a proceeding filed by the respondents, including Mr Sacca. The application arose from Mr El-Hissi’s involvement in a separate proceeding on behalf of some of the respondents, including Mr Sacca. The case concerned whether there was a duty of loyalty owed by a solicitor to a former client and whether the proper administration of justice required the restraint of the solicitor from acting. The application was dismissed because of the lateness of the application and the lack of any real and sensible possibility of the misuse of confidential information or a duty of loyalty.
The court considered whether the duty of loyalty owed by a solicitor to a former client could be a basis to restrain the solicitor from acting. The court noted that the duty of loyalty was not unanimously accepted in the authorities and that it only arose in the same or a closely related matter. The court also noted that the duty of loyalty had not been adopted by several judges in the authorities. The court held that the duty of loyalty should not be accepted as a matter of principle and that there was no real and sensible possibility of the misuse of confidential information. The court further held that the delay in bringing the application had the potential to cause financial loss and additional stress to Mr Sacca and that the prejudice caused by the delay in hearing the proceeding if Mr El-Hissi was to be restrained from acting were significant matters which informed the decision to dismiss the present application.
The court dismissed the interlocutory application filed on 23 February 2021 and listed the matter for a case management hearing at 11:00am on 12 May 2021 for further directions. The costs of the application were reserved. The court noted that entry of orders was dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.