Sebastian v Strongwall International Limited (Deregistered) (No 2)

The case of Sebastian v Strongwall International Limited (Deregistered) (No 2) involves a dispute where Professional Payments Services Pty Ltd, an innocent third party, sought the variation of a freezing order. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The primary legal issues before the court included the appropriateness of awarding indemnity costs to the third party and the adequacy of an undertaking given as a condition for discharging the injunctive relief.

The court examined whether the costs incurred by Professional Payments Services Pty Ltd were reasonable and whether the undertaking provided by the respondents was sufficient. The court noted that the undertaking did not adequately address certain complaints regarding the patents and intellectual property, and it instructed that the undertaking should be amended to include these issues. The court also determined that the burden of establishing the reasonableness of costs lay with the third party, Professional Payments Services Pty Ltd, and found that the costs were reasonable, entitling the third party to an indemnity basis for costs incurred after a specified date.

The court concluded that once Mr Hanna, a representative for the respondents, filed an amended undertaking addressing the noted deficiencies, the court would discharge the injunctions. The court ordered the freezing order and injunction against Professional Payments Services Pty Ltd to be set aside and discharged, and it mandated the repayment of a sum held in court. Additionally, the applicants were ordered to pay the costs of Professional Payments Services Pty Ltd on an indemnity basis from a certain date, ensuring the third party was fully compensated for its costs except for any unreasonable amounts. The respondents were given a deadline to file an amended undertaking and a minute of orders discharging the injunctions.